T3: Rise of the Machines
by TermGirl150
Summary: 2000. With Skynet on the brink of full activation, Carol Pointe sends its newest player into the field. Bodies are appearing all over the news with no connection except the future. General Sarah Connor refuses to move until they know what they are fighting but John Connor already knows. And he is racing to find and save the people on the machine's list before Judgment Day comes.
1. The Terminatrix

**Chapter 1: The Terminatrix**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **12:57 A.M.**

 **Los Angeles, California**

—

Lightning crackled in the air as a blue portal opened, dropping a woman on the hard ground. Her eyes opened with a blue flash as she rose to her feet effortlessly, pushing her long blonde hair behind her shoulders. She immediately began to run a diagnostic check and flexed her fingers, watching as they elongated into tiny metal needles. She flexed again and they morphed back into human form as she programmed clothes onto her body; all black and ready for action. Her metal blue eyes scanned over every building as she walked down the streets, feeling a light rain begin to come down.

 _Terminator Series – X, Model 1001, code 773010. Terminate future Human Resistance members._

 _Enrique Salceda_

 _Jolanda Salceda_

 _Franco Salceda_

 _Paco Salceda_

 _Juanita Salceda_

 _Annalise Richards_

 _Chad Tellmen_

 _Nathaniel Loken_

 _Pablo Hidalgo_

 _Juan Hidalgo_

 _Robert Patricks_

 _Tim Berkley_

 _Peter Holman_

 _Ethan Cox_

 _Akio Akene_

 _Linda Wells_

 _Anya Fiedel_

 _Harry Jones_

 _Gal Jefferson_

 _Robert Brewster_

 _Margaret Brewster_

 _Katherine Brewster_

 _Alexander Volkov_

 _Annie Harrison_

 _Gwendoline Queen_


	2. Nuclear Nightmare

**Chapter 2: Nuclear Nightmare**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **1:30 AM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

Sarah Connor's eyes were fixed on the bright blue sky and puffy white clouds above her, feeling like life couldn't get any better. The golden sun radiated throughout the entire city, lighting up the tall buildings in the busy city. All her stress was gone and she felt like there wasn't anything in the world that could bring her down. She felt peaceful. Sarah heard children squealing with joy and looked away from the sky to see a park with a wire fence just a few feet away.

She smiled softly as she walked toward the park, watching the kids running around while their parents talked and laughed with one another. But Sarah's attention was turned to one mother who couldn't have been much older than 20 years old. She wore a familiar outfit; high-waisted blue jeans with a pink and white tie-dye shirt. Her small boy was pulling on her blonde hair and she was laughing as she tried to gently pull it out of his hands. The young woman had bright blue eyes filled with hope and love as she set her son down to let him play on the green slide.

Sarah knew instantly that she was looking at a version of herself. She watched as she followed behind her son, making sure the bigger kids wouldn't knock him over as they ran past. Sarah's heart soared inside of her as she looked over John, remembering his mop of dark brown hair, bright green eyes, and the cutest smile she had ever seen. He was waddling slowly and Sarah guessed that he had to have been around two years old. She remembered it like it was yesterday.

She watched as a bigger kid slid quickly down the slide, aiming right for little John. Her younger self ran forward and lifted him into her arms, spinning away as she raised him toward the sky. John smiled and laughed innocently when she tickled under his chin. Then she brought her face close to her son's and rubbed her nose against his with a smile.

"I love you, John."

Tears fell down Sarah's cheeks as she watched herself walk over to the other mothers and talk like any normal person did. She had always wished they would have lived a normal life but as she watched what could have been, she knew that they weren't meant to live that life. She took one more step forward, grabbing onto the wire fence and watched her young son closely, wanting to press the goodness into her memory forever. It was so perfect, she knew it was wrong but she wanted it to be true.

Sarah suddenly felt a change in the air as it grew hotter. The children and mothers kept playing blissfully but Sarah knew that something wasn't right. Her grip on the fence tightened as she drew in a deep breath and shouted.

"RUN!"

But nothing came out. She tried shouting several more times and shook the fence violently but they couldn't hear her. No one could hear her. Her heart began to beat faster as fear began to close in. She knew what was coming. She had to warn them.

"RUN, SARAH, RUN!"

Despite her best efforts, she could not make a sound but she didn't stop trying. She screamed, trying her hardest to push out anything, not wanting to give up. She knew that if she gave up, they would all die and she had to face the fear that they were all going to die anyway. She wanted to do something about it. She wanted to tear down the fence and pull her young son into her arms to try and shield him from the fire and the metal that would come down but she couldn't.

Tears streamed down Sarah's cheeks as she desperately tried to warn her younger self and the others around her. She turned once she saw a missile flying through the sky and watched it land. The moment it crashed into the ground, she felt like her heart had been ripped out of her. A bright light appeared in the distance as it exploded and everyone turned to look at it. A pillar of fire rose up from the ground and began to consume downtown Los Angeles. It tore through everything in its path, rushing toward the park at an unimaginable speed. Sarah shouted one last time as she fell to her knees on the ground.

"RUN!"

Children ran to their mothers, screaming with fear and they ran. Everyone ran but Sarah and her son. Her younger self instead drew her son into her arms, hugging him close. Sarah screamed as the nuclear fire blew through her and her son and began to kill the others there. She watched the fire move toward her and felt it burn through her bones almost instantly, consuming her in flames.

—

Sarah opened her eyes with a start and sat up as quickly as she could. She instantly realized her right hand was gripping the pistol under her pillow and drew it out slowly, moving her finger away from the trigger. She laid it on her forehead as she leaned forward and felt hot tears mixing with sweat as they rolled down her face. Her body trembled with fear as she stared at the blanket over her, not being able to think of anything but what she had seen.

She wished she could travel around the world and learn as many languages as possible so she could warn them all. Her heart ached because she knew that even if she did something like that, they still wouldn't believe her. And one day, all her nightmares would come true and they would all be killed, thrust into a war with cold machines and she couldn't bear to think of what they would do. They would look for a hero… but it wouldn't be her. She hoped that someday, it would be John.


	3. Restless

**Chapter 3: Restless**

15 year old John Connor had woken up for no apparent reason and had not tried to go back to sleep despite the fact that he knew he was going to be tired later. Somehow that thought didn't faze him so he continued to lie on the small bed; warm and comfortable under his covers, and stared at the ceiling. He looked completely relaxed with his arms propped up behind his head and breathing slowly, but his mind was racing with one thought after the other in a never-ending cycle. He had gone through thousands of thoughts but the only one that kept echoing over and over in his head was short and clear.

 _I have to get out._

Everyone around him except little Bea Jones were all older than him and most of them were from the future. They were soldiers that gave up everything to come back and fight all over again. He knew why they would come back but he didn't completely understand it. After being in such a long and brutal war, why would they come back? To help others. To help Sarah Connor. To stop Skynet. Because no matter what timeline they had come from, no Human Resistance had actually won against the machines. That thought alone made the war seem hopeless to him.

If all those soldiers across all those timelines had lost, what difference would they make now? All those timelines had had his mother; sometimes as the General of the Human Resistance and others as a willing soldier. John thought if anyone would have won the war, it would have been her. Yet they all seemed hopeful. Some of them even believed that John would be the key to winning against Skynet but he didn't want to be that person.

He wasn't a leader like his mother. She was already so much stronger than him. She was brave and proud and would give anything to win. They had been waiting patiently for three years for Skynet to make a move but they hadn't given them anything big. He was tired of hiding and waiting. He wished he could run away and leave it behind but knew that would never happen. So he had settled with the idea of running away to fight. His mother wouldn't fight against Skynet now but John wanted to.

He didn't want to fight. And he especially didn't want to end up leading the entire Human Resistance. He wanted to be locked in a room and wage a virtual war with Skynet on a computer. He couldn't imagine being on the front lines or giving people orders, knowing most of them would die. But the worst part about these thoughts was that he wasn't sure whether he was being brave or cowardly. The last thing his mother needed was a coward for a son.

John ran a hand through his short dark hair and let out a sigh before he got off of his bed. He slipped his tennis shoes on and walked over to his closet, throwing on a dark t-shirt and grabbed his laptop. Then he carefully opened his bedroom door, glancing down both ends of the hallway to see if the coast was clear. He quickly slipped out of his room and closed the door behind him, speed-walking to left end of the hallway. John knocked softly on his partner's door, waiting patiently to see if she was awake.

The door opened slowly and nine year old Bea Jones stood there with her dark brown eyes squinting from the light. She pushed some of her straight dirty blonde hair over her shoulder as she whispered.

"What are you doing, John?"

John held up his computer and watched as a smile grew on Bea's face. She ducked back into the room and grabbed her laptop, quietly closing the door behind her. The two computer geniuses quickly ran over to the planning room and sat down as far from the door as they could so they could stay hidden. As they opened their laptops and started them, Bea questioned him.

"What are we doing?"

"Hacking into Cyberdyne Systems."

Bea's eyes widened and John was nervous for a second, wondering if she was going to mention the fact that they weren't supposed to be doing it but she shrugged her shoulders instead.

"Okay. Anything we're looking for?"

"It's been too long since we last got a hit on Skynet."

"I agree. You think they're up to something?"

John nodded quickly.

"Definitely."

"Okay, let's do it."

—

One hour later John found himself shaking his head with frustration as he stared at the computer screen. Bea noticed his frustration and glanced over at him quickly, speaking softly.

"What's wrong?"

John replied harshly.

"Are you getting anything!?"

"No."

John licked his lips quickly as he tilted his head back so that he was looking up at the ceiling.

"Can you think of anything new we could do?"

"I think we've tried everything."

John shook his head, refusing to accept defeat, and looked over at Bea.

"There has to be something else. Is there anything we missed?"

"John…"

He turned away from his computer to see her eyes wide with fear.

"What is it?"

"Skynet is killing."

"What!?"

John took her laptop from her hands and looked over the results, feeling chills run down his spine.

"All those people…"

"They were supposed to come three years ago."

"They're dead."

Bea looked at John with fear.

"And Skynet is trying to kill 25 more."


	4. Portal to the Future

**Chapter 4: Portal to the Future**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **6:30 AM**

 **La Honda, California**

—

Mila Jones drew in a deep breath as she shoved a strand of her short black hair out of her face quickly. The brisk wind kept knocking it out of place so she gave up on controlling it and brought the microphone up to her face. She stared straight into the camera with her dark brown eyes, putting on her best fake smile.

"The weather here in La Honda is sending us high winds, a slight chill in the air, and a lightning storm. The safest thing to do would be to stay in your house or your car but if you cannot do that, then be very careful with dealing with metal. I am Mila Jones, bringing you the weather. Back to you, Joseph."

The cameraman signaled once they were done broadcasting and Mila's smile fell instantly. She handed her microphone to a helper on the side and sat down in the back seat of their van, exhaling quickly. The cameraman, Grant, sat down next to Mila and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Rough day?"

Mila nodded slowly as she took the cup.

"Migraine."

"I see."

She took a quick sip and closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in the small town air. It was nice. But the wind started to pick up quickly and she watched as Grant clamped his hand down on his hat. Mila watched as lightning began to streak across the sky, striking quickly.

"We may have something here."

Grant nodded and grabbed the camera, following Mila out and away from the van. Mila's eyes were focused on the sky as lightning crackled in swirling clouds and she wondered if it was a tornado. She turned as electricity began to spark against the nearby gas station, turning blue. Mila gasped with surprise as what looked like a blue portal opened in the middle of the sky and a figure fell from it onto the ground. The cashier quickly came outside and Mila ran closer, wanting to see who had come out of the sky.

A young girl was lying on the hard ground, wincing with every heavy breath. She slowly turned so that she was lying on her back and whimpered in pain as she clutched her left arm. Both the cashier and Mila knelt at the girl's side.

"Are… are you okay?"

Mila moved some of the girl's long brown hair out of the way to see that she was dirty with dried blood on her cheek and hairline. She was wearing tattered clothes and shoes that looked like they would fall off if she walked anymore in them. The girl moved her head and opened her eyes slowly. Mila could see that her green eyes were filled with pain and fear. She let go of her left arm and used her right arm to push herself up into a sitting position. The cashier placed a hand on her shoulder and the girl jerked away, looking between the two fearfully.

The girl looked at her surroundings with confusion before Mila watched determination settle on her face. Mila drew in a slow breath before she gently spoke.

"What… what is your name?"

The girl drew in a shaky breath before she locked eyes with Mila.

"Where am I?"

"What?"

"Where am I?"

"You… you're in La Honda, California."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked between the two of them and Mila was confused as to why the girl didn't know where that was. But before she or the cashier could say anything, the girl spoke again.

"What year is it?"

"2000… why?"

The girl's eyes widened as she rose to her feet quickly, licking her dry lips.

"I'm late!"

Mila rose to her feet and put her hand out, trying to keep the girl from going anywhere.

"Late for what?"

The girl didn't answer and looked over Mila, the cashier, and Grant quickly before she drew in a deep breath.

"Where did you come from?"

Before the girl could answer, she pushed between Grant and Mila, sprinting away from them faster than they thought she could. Mila watched her run with surprise, not sure whether she should follow her or not. However, Grant shoved his camera into her arms and ran after her but within a few minutes, she was gone. It was like she had disappeared. Grant came back gasping for breath and shook his head slowly.

"She… she's fast."

"How the hell did she get away like that? She looked horrible."

"I don't know but wherever she came from, she's done a lot of running."


	5. Think Things Through

**Chapter 5: Think Things Through**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **6:47 AM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

John Connor lunged toward the planning table, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen and plopped down next to Bea. He quickly scribbled all the names of Skynet's targets so he could show them to his mother. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain how he had gotten them but he was sure he would figure something out. Bea's voice quivered as she looked to John nervously.

"Do you know any of these people?"

John licked his lips nervously.

"Yes, I know nine of them; Enrique, Jolanda, Franco, Paco, Juanita, Tim, Robert, Margaret, and Katherine. Why… why would Skynet want to kill them? We haven't had contact with any of them in years."

"Maybe the fact that you know them is enough for the machine to want them dead."

"We have to do something."

Bea's eyes widened as she pointed to the paper.

"How? We don't know if they are dead or alive. We don't even know what Skynet is using to kill them or locations for all 25 of them."

John set the paper down on the floor and turned to Bea, looking straight in her eyes.

"As long as we're alive and know about this, we can do something."

"How are we going to tell your mom?"

John drew in a slow breath as he shook his head slowly again.

"I'm not sure."

Bea shook her head slowly before she turned back to the computer screen, tapping on a few more keys. John stared at the names on the list silently, wondering how he could possibly save them all. They didn't have a lot of resources or time. And his mother would kill him if she figured out what he had done to get the list. They sat in silence for a few minutes with Bea trying to find more information on the targets while John tried to think of how he was going to present it. He knew his mother was probably up already but not out of her room but he didn't know where she would go first. But a loud and sudden cry from Bea shook him out of his trance.

She was staring at the computer in horror which caused John to rip it out of her hands. A kill code was flashing across the screen and John's heart dropped to his toes the moment he realized that Skynet was tracking their location. Bea slapped his back three times, squealing.

"Turn it off! Turn it off!"

John immediately rushed to his feet and slammed the laptop against the table several times until it was laying there in pieces. Bea was sitting against the wall with a hand over her mouth and wide eyes as she looked at the wreckage. John felt panic settle in as he heard footsteps coming toward them fast. The two hackers locked eyes for a few painful seconds before Sarah Connor and Derek Reese came running into the room. Sarah gripped her pistol tight in her hand as her blue eyes swept over the pieces of Bea's laptop before she turned to John.

"What the hell did you do?"

John licked his lips nervously as he glanced down at the laptop before he met his mother's angry eyes.

"Bea and I hacked into Cyberdyne Systems."

"What!?"

John protested quickly, holding his hand out.

"It's been three years since we had any major alerts from Skynet and I wanted to figure out why. So I asked Bea to help me."

Sarah flicked the safety on her pistol and smacked it against her head once as she let out a frustrated sigh. John could see a spark of fear in Derek's eyes and he knew he was going to be in a lot of trouble. So he quickly ran over and grabbed the pad of paper, showing it to his mother.

"Skynet has a list of 25 targets to terminate. They're all supposedly future members of the Human Resistance. We, uh, we didn't have time to see what is killing them but we know their names and… and Bea was looking for a location before… before…"

Sarah stared at her son, demanding an answer.

"Before what, John!?"

Bea rose to her feet slowly, looking at the computer.

"Skynet was locking onto our signal."

Sarah's anger faded into shock before it went to rage.

"Dammit, John!"

"I didn't think Skynet was active, mom! It's not supposed to be."

"But that doesn't mean it isn't online!"

Sarah turned her back away from her son as she let out several heavy breaths. John opened his mouth to respond to her but Derek stepped forward with his hand out, stopping him. Derek looked straight into John's eyes.

"Does Skynet know where we are?"

"I… I don't know. I don't know how long it takes for it to track a location."

Derek shook his head slowly as he turned away from John and looked down at Bea.

"Go on out, we're going to talk with John for a minute."

Bea glanced up at John apologetically and hesitated to leave so John motioned that it was okay for her to go and she did. She pushed past Sarah quickly and ran back to her room. Sarah turned back around and closed the door behind her, pointing at her son.

"How many damn times do I have to tell you to think things through!?"

"I was thinking but… did you see the names? It has the Salcedas on there and Tim and Kate. Skynet is going to kill them if we don't help them."

"We are in no position to help anyone right now. Especially since Skynet may or may not have our location."

John threw his arms in the air, firing back his reply.

"Isn't helping people what we're supposed to do!? We have to be ready to fight because we have no idea when Judgment Day is going to come. It could be tomorrow for all we know and we're not ready! I don't want to sit here and hide when we could be out there warning people of what's going to come."

"You know very well why we can't do that right now, John."

"I don't care! I don't care if Skynet or the police or the FBI find us! We… we just have to save them, mom. We have to save them! It's our fault they're in this mess in the first place. If you had never gotten caught then I wouldn't have moved here and met them."

Sarah slammed her gun down on the table.

"How do you know that they wouldn't have already been involved, John!? Who knows why the hell anything happens the way it does!? What matters is that we stay together and we try not to get killed before we can fight."

"Why can't we go out and fight now!?"

"Trust me, John. Please, we just need more time."

"We don't have any more time!"

Sarah drew in a deep breath as she stepped forward, staring straight into her son's defiant eyes.

"Stand down, John."

"No, I won't! One way or another I'm going to save them."

"You won't be able to make it out of here."

John squared his jaw as he returned the same anger she had on her face.

"We'll see about that, mom."

John took one step back before he walked away from her, heading for the door. Derek moved so that he was in John's way and opened his mouth to say something but John pushed past him and walked back to his room. Derek watched Sarah walk to the door and let out a small sigh.

"He can't stay here, Sarah. Judgment Day is coming and he needs to see the world again before it all goes to hell."

Sarah stopped at the door and turned to face Derek.

"No one lets John leave this base. He can fight all he wants but he will not win against me."


	6. Control Freak

**Chapter 6: Control Freak**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **7:15 AM**

 **La Honda, California**

—

Katherine Brewster let out a deep breath as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, pursing her lips slightly. Her straight, shoulder length red hair was falling perfectly and the little makeup she had put on made her warm brown eyes stand out. She smiled with satisfaction and shifted her attention to her clothing. She had chosen her favorite dark blue jeans, a purple blouse, a thin gray jacket, and a plain brown belt. Her style was simple but pretty and she had no desire to change it. She nodded once and turned the light off, walking out of the bathroom and into her room.

She calmly walked out of the bathroom and plopped herself down on her bed with a long sigh. She looked to the left to see her plain brown slip-on sneakers sitting by her backpack and nodded. Everything about Kate's life was organized. She always put her backpack and her shoes together just like all her clothes were folded and her nightstand always had her phone, watch, and hairbrush on it. After closing her eyes and breathing to relax for a few moments, she reached over and grabbed her phone, looking over the messages she had received.

 _Scott Boyer: Hey. How come you never texted me back? What do you say we go out tonight?_

Kate rolled her eyes and decided not to reply to it, knowing he would ask her at school anyway and continued looking through the messages.

 _Harlan Black: Do you have time to work on our history project this afternoon?_

Kate pursed her lips and drew in a slow breath before she texted back.

 _Kate: Good morning to you too, Harlan. Would 3 work?_

 _Tim Berkley: You fell asleep texting me last night, didn't you?_

She smiled sheepishly as she typed her reply.

 _Kate: Maybe…_

 _Tim Berkley: Geez, I didn't think I was_ that _boring._

 _Kate: You're not boring at all… I was just tired._

 _Tim Berkley: Good luck with school and Scott today! I'll talk to you at 4… like always._

 _Kate: You bet!_

She chuckled and drew in a deep breath once she recognized all the other messages waiting for her.

 _Abigail McCoy: Look, I know your parent's 17_ _th_ _anniversary is tomorrow night but you_ have _to come and play!_

 _Abigail McCoy: You're the best ball-handler we've got and we are_ SO _close to getting more points than the boys this season! This is our chance to show that girls can kill it in basketball too!_

 _Abigail McCoy: Besides, we're going up against the West High Serpents and if you aren't there then we won't win!_

 _Abigail McCoy: P.S. I know you're awake and that you can see this. So don't ignore me!_

Kate shook her head as message after message popped up on her screen and chuckled as she replied.

 _Kate: I'll ask them._

She smiled and went to move on to a different message but was stopped by Abigail once more.

 _Abigail McCoy: Can you do it now!?_

Kate laughed as she rolled off of her bed and sat on the floor, slipping her shoes on.

 _Kate: Yes._

She stood up and grabbed her plain black backpack as she turned her bedroom light off and closed the door behind her. She walked down the hallway slowly, looking down at her phone, as she headed into the kitchen. At the end of the hallway, she glanced up to see her mother sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Kate."

Kate looked up and smiled as she walked toward her mother and gave her a big hug.

"Good morning!"

Kate set her phone and backpack down and walked into the kitchen, grabbing her protein shake and an orange and sat down at the table. Kate's mother, Margaret, looked over her daughter with a smile.

"So your father said he had a good time running with you this morning."

Kate nodded slowly before she took a quick sip of her shake.

"I did too!"

"Well, I'm glad you two have something you do together… even if it is ridiculously early."

Kate shrugged her shoulders as she lifted her legs onto her chair and rested them against the table, setting down her cup.

"Trust me, I wish I didn't have to get up at 4 to do it with him. But he goes to work at 5 so we have to."

"You're pretty awesome, Kate."

Kate chuckled nervously as her phone vibrated on the table.

"Thanks, mom."

 _Abigail McCoy: Soooo…. what did she say!?_

Kate rolled her eyes quickly before she looked back at her mother.

"Abigail wants to know if I can play the game tomorrow. She's concerned that without me that they won't win, even though there are other perfectly capable girls to take my place. She won't stop texting me."

"You can play as long as you are home right after it's done. Your father and I want to go out but he wants you home before we leave."

"Okay."

 _Kate: Just the game… that's it._

 _Abigail McCoy: YAY!_

Kate shook her head with a small smile on her face and set the phone back down, finishing her breakfast. A few minutes later, an alarm on her phone rang and she stood up and gave her mother another hug.

"I'll see you after your doctor's appointment."

"I was wondering if you would remember."

Kate pulled away with a smile.

"I never forget. I've got everything under control."

"That's my girl."

Kate grinned as she lifted her backpack off the ground.

"I've got to go confront Scott again about how we are _not_ dating and how I don't want to go out with him every night. In fact, I'd rather not go out at all. I swear he's the most clueless person I've ever met."

"Don't worry too much, he'll get it eventually. Besides, I trust you'll find a way to control it. You always do."

"Bye, mom."

"Bye!"

Kate turned her back to her mother and walked out of the kitchen to the hallway and exited out the front door, letting the cool air welcome her outside as she began her walk to the school bus.


	7. Goodbye Old Friend

**Chapter 7: Goodbye Old Friend**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **7:45 AM**

 **Los Angeles High School**

 **Los Angeles, California**

—

The Terminatrix stepped out of the car she had stolen and slammed the door shut behind her. The machine walked briskly toward the elderly woman struggling to put all of her papers in her bag. She was shaking her head slowly and cursing under her breath before she looked up to see the beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman standing in front of her.

"May I help you?"

The Terminatrix smiled warmly as she thrust her hand out toward the teacher.

"Are you Mrs. Amanda Meyers? You teach second period English for the juniors, correct?"

"Yes."

"I am Jessica Henderson from the District, School, & Innovation branch of the California Department of Education. I came to ask you about one of your students."

Mrs. Meyers nodded slowly as she gestured toward the school.

"Would you mind walking with me to my classroom?"

The Terminatrix folded her arms in front of her as she turned away from the woman and toward the entrance to the high school.

"Not at all."

As they walked into the school, the Terminatrix looked over every individual and pulled up the blueprint to the school so she knew exactly where she needed to go. She followed right behind Mrs. Meyers noticing students looking at her nervously and strangely. The machine took no report of their reactions and tuned in on the teacher's small voice as they approached her classroom.

"Which student are you concerned about?"

The Terminatrix stepped through the open door and turned to face the woman as she closed the door behind her.

"Tim Berkley."

Mrs. Meyers' eyebrows furrowed as she placed her bag on the desk.

"Tim may not have the best grades but he is a great student. He… he has a tendency to become distracted very easily but he always hears more than you think he would. He is a very smart kid. Why are you concerned about him?"

The machine paused before it answered, looking over the woman's desk.

"Are you aware of his parents' recent divorce?"

"Yes, of course."

"His grades dropped very quickly."

Mrs. Meyers folded her arms across her chest.

"Of course they did. His entire life just changed."

"If his grades continue to fall the way they are now, he will most likely not finish this semester of schooling."

Mrs. Meyers placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward slightly.

"I am aware and I am working with him. English isn't his best subject. It bores him but I am doing all I can to help him. You can be sure of that. I hope you do not mind me asking but… why would one student's grades alert the Department of Education? There are several other children with far worse grades."

The Terminatrix drew in a slow breath despite the fact that it did not need it and walked toward the elderly woman with a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you feeling alright, Mrs. Meyers? You look a little pale."

"I… I am fine."

The machine placed its hand on the woman's as it looked straight into her eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright."

"Yes, I…"

The Terminatrix walked over to Mrs. Meyers' side and gripped her right arm, still keeping the concerned expression. The machine quickly placed its hand over the woman's heart and gave off an electric shock, causing the woman to gasp. The Terminatrix's grip tightened on the woman's arm as she pulled away and slowly lowered the older woman to the floor as she passed out. The machine grabbed the teacher's bag and found her phone and dialed 911, imitating the voice of a frightened teenage girl.

"Yes, I… I'm at the Los Angeles High School and… and my teacher, Mrs. Meyers, just passed out. I… I think she must have had a heart attack or… or… I don't know. She… she's on the ground and… and I can't find a pulse. She was just fine a… a minute ago but now… now she… she…"

The machine finished the call with the ambulance and counted down the time until they would arrive, knowing it would have to act quickly and effectively. The Terminatrix rose to her feet quickly and closed the door behind her, searching for its target. The machine loaded Tim Berkley's driver's license photograph onto its screen and walked quickly, scanning over the faces. She stopped one student; a small, wide-eyed girl and spoke gently.

"Do you know Tim Berkley?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, he's at the South entrance. He just got here."

The Terminatrix smiled warmly at the girl, keeping up the act.

"Thank you."

The machine's smile fell the moment it turned away from the girl and walked briskly down the hallway toward the south entrance of the school. She opened the doors and stepped outside, looking over the students laughing and talking, searching for its objective. A flash of red hair appeared and the Terminatrix pursued it and got close enough to analyze the facial structure.

 _Recognition confirmed._

The Terminatrix pushed through a few students and stopped a few feet away from Tim and his friends, who were all looking at her with confusion. The machine ignored the teenagers and trained her eyes on Tim's light blue ones.

"Tim Berkley, come with me please."

The machine recognized a flash of panic and fear cross in Tim's face but he gripped his backpack and followed her away from his friends. She led him away from the crowds toward a less public area and heard sirens in the distance, drawing closer.

"Am I in trouble for something?"

The Terminatrix's hand slowly morphed into a short but sharp liquid metal knife that she hid under her coat sleeve as they walked away. The machine replied quickly and coldly.

"Yes."

"For what?"

The Terminatrix turned quickly and shoved the knife straight into Tim's heart. He gasped with pain as his blue eyes widened, staring at her with fear.

"For existing."

The machine stared straight into his eyes and his widened even more as he saw a flash of blue light cross her eyes.

"You are a threat, Tim Berkley; one that must be removed before you can fight against me."

The machine shoved the knife in further; making sure it would kill him and pulled him in close, making it look like she was giving him a comforting hug as his legs began to crumple beneath him. As the sirens grew closer, the students began to run to look where the ambulance was coming from, drawing them away from Tim and the Terminatrix. Tim's legs buckled beneath him and his knees crashed onto the ground as his head fell back weakly. The Terminatrix drew its hand out of the boy and let him fall down the rest of the way, watching the blood gush over his chest. The Terminatrix wiped the blood from her hand off on his shirt before she rose to her feet.

"You should have believed John Connor when you had the chance."


	8. Mystery at the Gate

**Chapter 8: Mystery at the Gate**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **10:10 AM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

As Sarah Connor adjusted her blonde ponytail, the walkie talkie at her side squealed and she picked it up.

"Yes?"

Derek Reese' growl of a voice replied.

" _We've got a recruit at the gate."_

"Do you know him?"

" _No."_

Sarah nodded slowly and slipped on a camo jacket over her black tank top and responded.

"Keep John out of the way and approach with caution. I'm on my way."

" _Will do."_

Sarah placed the walkie talkie back on her belt and closed the door behind her. She noticed John on the other side of the hallway talking with Pryce Logan and Kenneth Jones and quickly walked up to them. John turned to her slowly, noticing the strict look on her face and spoke bitterly.

"Yes?"

"Keep your walkie talkie on."

John nodded slowly as he patted the device on his belt.

"It's always on."

"Good."

Sarah turned away from her son without another word, knowing he was still angry at her for their earlier exchange. She didn't understand why he just wouldn't listen to her. She knew that she wasn't always right and tried to listen to his opinions but all of his ideas were risky. The last thing Sarah wanted was for John to be in more danger than he already had coming. She wished he understood as she drew in a deep breath and pushed the thought away, putting on her tough exterior. She walked quickly down the stairs and over to the entrance of their small base to see Derek Reese and Reed Powers standing there, waiting for her. Sarah stopped in front of them, folding her strong arms in front of her chest and spoke boldly.

"Where is he?"

Reed replied quickly with one hand hovering over the pistol on his side.

"Outside. We haven't let him in yet. No one recognizes him."

Derek's eyes were trained on the door and Sarah could tell that every one of their bodies was tensed, expecting something bad to happen. Sarah turned to Derek and nodded once, reassuringly.

"Let him in."

Derek hesitated but moved forward slowly and Reed moved as well to help open the heavy metal door. The moment it opened, Sarah stared directly at the man in the doorway. He was tall with broad shoulders that gave him an intimidating yet confident aura around him that Sarah immediately disliked. That kind of confidence always led to cockiness. He had the body of a soldier with bulging muscles, a set jaw, harsh blue-grey eyes, and buzz-cut blonde hair. He nodded once out of respect before he took a step toward the group of individuals.

"I hope I'm not intruding. I'm Kaleb Hunter. Born and raised in Hilliard Ohio. But I went into the Army when I was 18 in 1993 and stayed there through Judgment Day. Then I left and transferred into the Denver, Colorado Resistance under the leadership of Jared Ashdown."

Sarah nodded slowly, keeping her eyes on the man for a few seconds longer, looking between Derek and Reed. She drew in a slow breath and grabbed her walkie talkie, pressing the button to call her son and spoke briskly.

"I need documentation on Kaleb Hunter. Born in Hilliard Ohio. Joined the U.S. Army in 1993 when he was 18 years old. Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes. See if he checks out."

Sarah was relieved when her son replied quickly.

" _On it."_

Sarah placed the walkie talkie back on her belt and looked back at Rocket.

"I am General Sarah Connor, current leader of the Human Resistance. I assume you know what we do."

"Yes ma'am. We monitor Cyberdyne Systems, fight Terminators, and protect our bases and people from the machines. We work to end the war and Skynet."

Sarah nodded over to her colleagues.

"This is Reed Powers and Derek Reese. You will be with Reese while we see if you check out. And if you do, he'll take you through the initiatory and training phases. We take things very seriously around here. If you ever find any new information or know of things from the past on Cyberdyne Systems, Skynet, Terminators, or the future state of the Human Resistance you are to report that information immediately. You will report that information to Powers or Reese and they will give it to me."

Rocket nodded briskly.

"Yes, ma'am."

Sarah watched him for a few more seconds before she turned on her heel, nodding at Derek.

"Good."

She took a few steps away from them before she turned back and spoke.

"Powers come with me."

Reed turned quickly and jogged up to where she was, following close beside her. He leaned in slightly and whispered carefully.

"Do you trust him?"

"No. I try not to trust anyone. I prefer to do things myself but that's not how the Resistance works."

Reed nodded and shoved his hand in his pockets.

"Right you are, Ms. C. So… what did you want me for?"

"I need you to make sure weapons training is going according to schedule. We need to see if shot accuracy is improving or not for the new recruits."

"Yes, ma'am."

Sarah stopped and turned to Reed, waiting for him to do the same before she leaned forward, placing a firm hand on his shoulder and looked straight into his eyes.

"You keep your eyes open at all times. Should Rocket make it through initiation, you need to watch him like a hawk during training. If there is anything suspicious at all, I want to know it. I will not allow anyone with questionable loyalties in the Resistance."

Reed nodded slowly.

"I know how this works, Sarah. You can trust me."

Sarah turned away from Reed and changed the subject quickly, not wanting to tell him of her hesitation.

"I'm going to check Bea's progress on tracking that signal from Skynet and then see if John has anything on the mysterious recruit."

Reed moved so that she could see his face as a wide grin spread. Sarah couldn't help but smile slightly as she continued walking forward, seeing him wave to her in the corner of her eye.

"See ya later, General!"


	9. Not Enough

**Chapter 9: Not Enough**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **10:45 AM**

 **Palo Alto, California**

—

Parker Young's hands were buried in the pockets of her jacket, gripping the 20 dollar bill tight. She looked over her shoulder every couple seconds, afraid an undercover machine was going to spot her. It was foolish to think that they weren't already in the world. Her heart beat fast as she watched the crowds, looking for a form of transportation. She looked over all the signs trying to look more normal even though she never learned how to read. Everything was so foreign but her spirits lifted a little bit when she noticed a bus station up ahead and hoped she had enough money to get on and away.

She had been lucky to get out of La Honda quickly because of a kind driver but the machine that had followed her from the future was close behind and she was not ready for a fight. Parker darted across the street and headed straight for the station, trying to blend in with the crowd. She looked quickly over her shoulder once more and turned back and stopped. She let in a gasp of fear as she recognized the long black haired, brown eyed, slender female Terminator that had come from the portal just a few feet ahead of her. Parker ducked down despite people's complaints and pushed through the crowd, trying to go around the other side.

Every step that she took felt like a thousand but adrenaline was the only thing pushing her forward now. She knew the machine was there but didn't know how far the next bus station would be. If she continued and got caught, she would be killed. But there was a very small chance that she could get away if she was careful. She had to make it San Francisco. It was the only reason she had been sent back in time.

Parker drew in a shaky breath and decided to face her fears, following the crowd through the far right entrance to the bus station. She kept her head down toward the ground but kept her eyes up, searching for the machine. She pushed herself forward hoping to find safety in the crowd of people ahead. One man with a briefcase bumped into her hard, not looking where he was going, and she stumbled forward, falling to her knees. Parker instantly pushed herself back up to her feet; searching for the machine once more.

"Are you okay?"

Parker turned once she felt a hand on her shoulder and gasped with fear as she tried to free herself from the Terminator's grip. The machine kept a firm grip on Parker and forced her away from the crowd despite the girl's best efforts to get away. The Terminator moved so that it looked like Parker was injured and that she was helping her. Parker wished someone would realize what was happening but knew they wouldn't. This situation alone was enough to prove that the world was blind to Skynet's power.

"Keep quiet or more will die."

Parker stopped fighting the machine as they walked out of the bus station, past security guards, and out onto the street again. Once they were in the clear, they walked behind an alleyway where the Terminator threw Parker into the side of a building. Parker felt to the ground with a gasp of pain but quickly rose to her knees, watching to see the Terminator's fingers morph into long, liquid metal knives. The machine dove toward Parker and she quickly ducked to the side, watching the Terminator's fingers pierce through the building.

The machine quickly pulled its hand out and Parker scrambled to her feet, trying to make a run for it. The Terminator's other hand snapped out, gripping her ankle and pulled. Parker had no time to brace herself and her face smashed into the pavement. Blood filled her mouth immediately and black spots danced in front of her eyes as she tasted a slight metallic taste in the back of her mouth. She kept a hand on her jaw, trying to fight the tears in her eyes as the blood began to drip out of her mouth.

Parker crawled backward, feeling the Terminator's fingers rake across her ankles and legs, cutting deep. She drew in thick, heavy gasps as she tried her best to move away. The machine lunged forward, punching Parker in the stomach and the ribs. Parker kicked her legs wildly even though it had no effect on the machine, desperate for some kind of advantage. The machine's knives raked across her chest and she opened her mouth to let out a cry of pain but the Terminator wrapped its fingers around her throat, squeezing instantly.

Parker gasped for oxygen but found none and felt more blood fill her mouth, choking her. Her vision quickly faded as her heart beat escalated. She stopped kicking and felt her head hit the pavement, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to see the machine in her last moments. Parker's stomach sank to her toes as tears blurred in her eyes and the last thought in her mind before she gave up fighting was that she had failed.


	10. Shotgun Training

**Chapter 10: Shotgun Training**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **11:17 AM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

Sarah Connor paced behind the recruits, watching their form and accuracy at the firing range. Some of them had experience with guns and some had no experience at all and both were very easy to see. The Powers triplets; Reed, Claire, and Blair, were leading the training session, darting back and forth from each recruit correcting form or showing them how to do it. Typically the Powers were known for joking around but they knew that there was a time to be serious and that was a quality that Sarah greatly appreciated. It made her job even easier.

Sarah stopped a few feet away from a young brunette recruit, struggling to handle the shotgun she was holding. She fired a shot that hit the target but her body shuddered with the recoil and she stumbled back slightly, struggling to regain her balance. Sarah rushed forward and caught her and her right arm instantly took the gun from the girl, making sure it was still trained on the target. Sarah let out a slow breath and turned the safety on.

The young woman glanced nervously between the gun and Sarah with worried dark brown eyes. Sarah smiled softly and took off the protective earmuffs she was wearing and offered the gun back to the girl. She hesitated to take it and opened her mouth to speak but Sarah beat her to it.

"Don't apologize. You didn't hurt anyone and you're learning how to use it. That's okay. First priority is always safety."

"I… I just…"

"What's your name?"

"Joyce."

Sarah nodded slowly and held the shotgun up so Joyce could see it.

"It's okay to be afraid. It means you're human and that is always good. But the gun only has as much power as you give it. It can't do anything on its own which means that you are in complete control."

Joyce nodded slowly, eyeing the gun nervously. Sarah stepped behind the girl and helped her forward and get into position.

"Okay, Joyce, I'm going to teach you the trick to shotguns. The first thing is to keep your eyes on the target. With a shotgun, you are basically going to just point and shoot. Good shooters train to be able to shoot with just their eyes and not rely on the gun's sight at all but you will start by keeping your eyes on the target. Look at where you want to go. If you're right then the gun will land where your dominant eye is looking."

Joyce nodded again and Sarah helped her mouth the gun, placing it front of her body along her face and then dug it into her shoulder.

"You want to apply downward pressure on the back of the gun with your cheek. That will help with the recoil. You want your feet to be under your shoulders with your front foot pointing forward and you want the back foot to be nearly perpendicular with it."

Sarah stepped back after a few seconds and smiled slightly at the position.

"Alright Joyce, are your eyes on the target?"

"Yes."

"Good. Now keep your eyes right there and shoot when you're ready."

Sarah waited patiently and smiled as Joyce jumped slightly after she fired the shot. Sarah walked forward and grabbed a pair of binoculars to see where her shot landed.

"Good eye. You're on the inner ring, close to the bulls-eye. Don't worry about the set-up… with more training you'll find you don't even think about it."

Joyce flicked the safety on and set the shotgun down on the table, letting out a slow breath. She rolled her shoulder and chuckled slightly.

"Thanks."

Sarah nodded with a small smile and turned to leave but Joyce leaped forward and stopped her.

"How do you do all this?"

Sarah turned back to Joyce, folding her arms across her chest, listening to her speak.

"I… I remember hearing stories about you on the news; about the Terminator, and the soldier from the future. They said you were crazy but you got away. You were caught but then you got away again. How did you do it?"

Sarah licked her lips, thinking over her response before she spoke.

"I figured out that fear and love are the quickest ways to learn who you truly are. After everything that happened in 1984, I never wanted to be caught like that again. I loved that soldier and when I figured out that I was pregnant with his child, I… I knew I had to get away. And from that day on, I have trained and given everything I have to be ready for it to come again. You'd be surprised what you are willing to do for someone you love. And when they are almost taken from you and hurt, you will do anything to make sure that they're ready if it ever comes around again."

Joyce quickly ran a hand through her dark hair.

"When do you think that time will be?"

"Sooner than we'd like it to be. That's why we're here now."

Sarah drew in a breath to continue speaking but stopped when her radio crackled to life.

" _I've got what you need, mom."_

Sarah picked up her walkie talkie with a smile.

"I'm on my way."

"What's one thing you miss about your old life?"

A grin formed across Sarah's face as she replied.

"Rocket Man by Elton John. Don't tell anyone but that's who I named my son after. He used to love it when I sang it to him. I'm a terrible singer… but even at his young age, he loved the song because I did."

Sarah's smile fell slowly as she looked back at Joyce, drawing in a slow breath.

"This life will change you like it's changed me… but hold your past close to your heart and don't ever forget it. And remember that you're stronger than you think."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sarah slowly turned on her heel and walked away, fastening the earmuffs as she walked through the rest of the shooters. She took off her camo jacket and tied it around her waist, sighing with relief as her bare shoulders felt the heat of the sun for a few seconds before she entered the base. She walked quickly to the planning room to see John sitting there with his laptop, waiting for her.

"What did you get?"

John spoke hesitantly.

"He's from a different timeline. He doesn't exist in this one so there's no way to know if he is real or not."

"I was afraid of that."

"Sorry."

Sarah met her son's eyes and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be. You did your best."

"What do you want me to do now?"

Sarah held her hands out.

"Let me see your laptop. There's something I want to show you."


	11. Because Of Me

**Chapter 11: Because Of Me**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **11:45 AM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

Bea Jones stood at the doorway of the training hall, watching her older brother, Kenneth, spar with Pryce Logan. The two would stop and talk or laugh for a couple of seconds before they would continue to fight. Her dark brown eyes watched them closely but her mind was not focused on the fight. She couldn't help but think of those 25 people that Skynet was planning on killing. Memories of her life in the war popped up causing her to shiver. She didn't want anyone to live through that and she didn't want anyone else to die because of a heartless machine.

Bea drew in a deep breath and slipped away from the door when her brother's back was turned to her. She sprinted down the hallway, up the stairs, and grabbed the list of names that John had written down earlier and ran out quickly, hoping not to be spotted. Her heart pounded fast as she ran into the room she and her brother shared, closing the door quickly behind her. She grabbed her brother's laptop and sat down on the bed that they shared, not being able to fight the urge any longer.

She studied the names for a few seconds before she turned to the computer and began her work. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she began to look up the names. She went through every name making sure she knew their place of residence, place of work, and any other important documentation for the names before she searched the internet for news of those individuals. The Salceda family was safe and she drew in a shaky breath before she typed Annalise Richards' name into the search engine.

Her stomach sank to her toes as she clicked on a news article to find that Annalise had been shot twice before the perpetrator set her house on fire. She had died late last night. Tears blurred in her eyes as she read over the first few lines but quickly clicked off, not wanting to imagine the agony she had to have felt from being shot and then burned alive. Next was Chad Tellmen; the security guard for the local bus station had been shot in the head by an unknown shooter that morning. Bea shook her head quickly and moved on, not wanting to read any more.

Pablo and Juan Hidalgo were two brothers preparing their family restaurant for lunch time when the place was caught on fire. The brothers were unable to get out alive. Tears ran down Bea's cheeks as she continued to search for all the names that lived in Los Angeles. Anya Fiedel was a child psychologist that was shot dead that morning before her office had opened. Bea desperately searched the other names and found that they didn't live in Los Angeles and thereby were safe.

But there was one more name from Los Angeles that she hadn't checked. Tim Berkley; a local high school student stabbed in the heart before school had started. Bea's heart sank as she remembered John saying that Tim was one of the people he had known form when he had used to live there. Her throat burned with sadness as she stared at the screen, shaking her head slowly. She reached over and grabbed the list, crossing out 6 of the 25 names. Bea sat there sobbing silently over those people, knowing that if they had acted that they may have been able to save them.

Bea sat there for a few more minutes before she couldn't hide it anymore. Bea shoved the pad of paper in the computer and slammed it closed, leaping off the bed. She had to tell John. She knew that he would do something about it. She opened the door, ducking past Kasey Sanders and sprinted to John's room, pounding furiously against the door. Bea quickly learned that he wasn't there and ran to the planning room but found that he wasn't there either.

Bea's heart raced as she sprinted through the base, finally learning that the two Connors in the training hall. As she burst through the doors, she couldn't hold back her sobs anymore and cried out loud.

"JOHN!"

Both Sarah and John turned to Bea with concerned expressions and John immediately ran to her side.

"What's wrong?"

Bea shook her head as she sniffled, feeling John grip her shoulders. He was looking over with wide eyes, trying to figure out what had upset her. Bea struggled to speak through her heavy breaths.

"The names… Skynet… it… it's…"

Sarah stepped forward.

"What about Skynet?"

Bea let out another small sob as she met John's eyes, pulling the list out with trembling hands. John's concerned expression immediately faded into fear as he pulled her over to a bench and sat down. Bea pushed some of her straight, dirty blonde hair out of her face and opened the computer to the news articles. She turned the computer so that Sarah and John could look over them as she spoke softly.

"Six people have… have already been… killed. One last night and… and five this morning."

Sarah knelt down next to them and grabbed the computer, looking over the articles while John held the list in his hands. John wrapped one arm around Bea, pulling her close to him, and spoke softly.

"It's okay, Bea. We'll… we'll…"

John instantly stopped speaking and Bea looked up to see tears blurring in his eyes as he stared down at the list. Bea nervously looked over at Sarah who was looking away from the computer and watching her son very closely. John's breaths grew heavier as he drew away from Bea, wrenching the computer out of his mother's hands.

"John…."

"No, mom."

Bea began to sniffle again as she watched John shatter in front of her. His body slumped forward over the computer and he stared at it with wide, tear-filled eyes, shaking his head slowly. He leaned away, shaking his head rapidly as he looked at his mother.

"No… no…"

Sarah leaned forward and took the computer from his hands and set it down on the floor. As John began to cry, Sarah wrapped her arms tight around him as he slid off the bench and his knees hit the floor. Tears ran down Bea's cheek as she watched the two Connors. Bea had never seen John cry before and her heart ached as he spoke softly.

"I… I never got to say… goodbye. And… and now he's gone. He's gone because… because of me."

Sarah pulled away from her son quickly, gripping his shoulders.

"No, John. No! This is not your fault."

"Tim's not a threat. They killed him because he knew me!"

"We don't know that, John. Maybe… maybe he went on to fight in the future and that's why they wanted him out of the way. Do not blame yourself for his, or any of these people's deaths. Do you hear me, John? It's not your fault. It is never your fault."

Sarah wrapped her arms around her son once more with tears welling in her eyes, speaking so gently that it surprised Bea.

"I will not allow you to carry that pain on your shoulders. I've already had it and… and I won't ever let you believe that a situation out of your control is your fault."

"I could have warned him. I… I could have saved him."

"No, John. I am the leader. I could have saved him but I… I chose not to. I chose not to because I didn't want you to get hurt. But I can see that I made a mistake and I am sorry, John. I am so sorry. If… if this is anyone's fault, then it's mine. And… and I will carry that with me until the day that I die just so you won't have to feel that pain."

John pulled away from his mother, shaking his head slowly, as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Let me go. Please… please let me help them. I… I have to save them. They don't know. They don't know what's coming and I… I can't stay here and… and wait until they are all killed. I… I have to go. Please… please let me go..."

Bea watched as Sarah hesitated to answer and could see the love and fear she held in her eyes at the idea of letting her son go. Sarah searched her son's pale green eyes for a few silent moments and drew in a slow, shaky breath.

"Okay… okay. You… you'll go with Derek and you'll bring them here. Just be safe. Please don't get hurt. I… I love you too much to lose you, John."

"I love you too, mom."


	12. The Global Defense Network

**Chapter 12: The Global Defense Network**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **12:15 PM**

 **Cyberdyne Systems**

 **Fremont, California**

—

"Mrs. Pointe?"

Carol looked up from her desk to see her secretary, Rena, clutching her clipboard nervously.

"Yes?"

"General Heralds is online now."

A small smile flittered across Carol's face as she instinctively straightened her blue business jacket.

"Thank you."

Rena nodded once and quickly walked out, closing the door behind her. Carol drew in a slow breath as she pushed her long brown curls over her shoulder and out of the way. Then she stared at the computer screen expectantly, waiting for the military general to call. A few moments later, she forced a smile and watched with disdain as General Heralds' plump, pink face with a bushy mustache appeared on the computer screen. He drew in a raspy breath and spoke in a low, gruff voice.

"I assume all is well with your security system, Ms. Pointe?"

Carol's perfectly fake smile slowly grew as she folded her hands in her lap.

"I prefer to call it a global defense network… and yes, all is well, General."

"Great. Let's get to business then."

Carol nodded once, feeling slightly eager.

"Let's."

"How are we supposed to know if this 'global defense network'…"

Carol interrupted briskly.

"Skynet."

"How are we supposed to know if 'Skynet' is safe?"

She nodded with approval and drew in a slow breath.

"General Heralds, I can assure you that Skynet is more than safe. And here at Cyberdyne Systems, we are fully prepared to execute orders whenever the president or the military need."

"What exactly will Skynet do once activated?"

Carol leaned back slightly in her chair, extending her arms into the open air.

"What won't Skynet be able to do? That is the question you should truly be asking, General. With its global networking system, we can neutralize national and international threats before they become apparent. Skynet will be able to see inside any building, track any individual you want it to, and read the license plates of cars all over America. With one keystone, it can deploy tanks on tactical missions without having to risk the lives of our brave men and women. With Skynet, human error will be a thing of the past, leaving America's nuclear arsenals at its disposal. As soon as Skynet is fully operational, you will be able to take the threat of another world war away completely without half the world knowing you have this technology."

General Heralds nodded slowly and Carol could see that under his tough exterior, he was starting to believe in her case. So she let him ask his questions.

"That is a lot of power for one computer."

"But you will be in control."

A moment of silence passed between the two before their conversation continued.

"Is this all Skynet will be able to do?"

"No, sir. That is just the militaristic side of Skynet. It will revolutionize technology completely. It will automatically and secretly connect to every electronic device in and monitor them. Black market websites will be exposed, any social platform that does not exist in real life will be deleted, and you will be able to pick up criminals easier than ever before. No longer will the citizens of our great nation have to worry about mediocre hackers, illegal downloads, or harmful and inappropriate pop-ups on a family computer because Skynet will block it all. Safety is our first priority."

"What do you hope to accomplish with Skynet, Ms. Pointe?"

"Here at Cyberdyne Systems, we aim and expect for complete global domination of technology. Skynet is the most advanced and smartest computer of its time. We are offering you the future… now."

General Heralds ran a hand across his chin for a few seconds before replying.

"What benefits will Skynet offer to the general public?"

Carol smiled as she leaned slightly forward in her chair, staring straight into his eyes.

"Skynet will be able to help doctors and surgeons perform life or death operations in a matter of minutes with technological precision. No longer will we have to worry whether or not our medical operations will successful because it will be. Skynet is designed to calculate perfectly… ever time."

"And the education system?"

"A system you can shape however you wish. With Skynet, you can create the perfect curriculum for students in America and eventually the world. It will monitor every student's progress and adjust according to how quickly or slowly they learn. Every student in America will be able to listen to the same teacher at the exact time, every day of the week. We will teach them exactly what they need to know and adapt later schooling to their interests to help put them in their idealized career. The advancements and advantages of Skynet will be known for generations to come."

General Heralds sat forward in his seat, folding his arms in front of him as he looked at her.

"And you trust this machine?"

"Yes, because the fact that it is a machine makes it so perfect. Skynet will not make a mistake. You need not worry because we have something planned for every situation. And in a couple decades, Skynet won't need humans because it will be able to operate itself."

"Are you prepared for me to inspect this program tomorrow?"

"Of course. You may come by whenever you wish."

"I will be there at 1:30 PM."

Carol replied coolly with a smile.

"Perfect. Everything will be ready before you arrive. Have a good day, General."

"Likewise, Ms. Pointe."

The video feed ended and Carol let out a disgusted sigh before she reached forward and pressed the call button on her phone.

"Rena! General Heralds will arrive at 1:30 PM tomorrow to inspect Skynet. Begin preparations for a welcome ensemble immediately. Then have Dyson boot up Skynet's processor system and tell him to run some tests. And tell him that I want to meet with him in the processor room in one hour."

"Right away, ma'am."

Carol released the call button and smiled softly.

"I know you doubt me, General Heralds… but you won't for much longer."


	13. Nathaniel Loken

**Chapter 13: Nathaniel Loken**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **12:30 PM**

 **Culver City, California**

—

The Terminatrix approached the door, scanning over the apartment complex quickly. She knocked on the door twice and waited for it to open. A man with tousled dark brown hair opened the door and smiled as he looked over her.

"And who are you?"

The T-X smiled softly.

"Is Nathaniel Loken here? We met last night and he said to come by his place any time today."

The smile quickly fell off the man's face but he still tried his best.

"Yeah, he… he's upstairs. But I…"

The Terminatrix slowly slipped into the building, pushing him away from the door. The man chuckled nervously as she closed the door behind her.

"I… I, uh…"

The T-X's smile instantly fell and she lunged forwards, punching the man in the chest. He gasped in pain and fell to the ground, dead within a matter of seconds. The Terminatrix moved away from the man and immediately walked up the staircase. Her blue eyes scanned over two doors and she turned to the right, kicking it down, sending shattered wooden pieces all over the room. Another young man jumped out of his bed, staring at her with surprise.

"Who… who are you?"

The T-X did not reply as her database pulled up an image of Nathaniel Loken and matched it with the visual she currently had. Once his identity was confirmed, the T-X revolved her right arm quickly and morphed into liquid metal, revealing an internal gun that glowed with a light blue light as it powered up. As Nathaniel moved to run away, the Terminatrix shot him down quickly. Nathaniel's body fell back against the nightstand before toppling to the floor. The machine scanned over him quickly and once it confirmed he was deceased, she revolved her left arm, revealing a flamethrower and shot fire at the body to burn it.

The T-X then turned away and walked back down the stairs, stepping over the body of Nathaniel's friend and opened the door slightly. The Terminatrix shot fire at his body as well before setting the wooden floor on fire as well. Once smoke began to rise and become thick, the machine opened the front door and walked out quickly. As it walked away to its car, smoke alarms began to go off and it could hear people shouting, trying to figure out what was going on. The T-X stepped into its car and its eyes flashed blue with the location of the next target.

 _Linda Wells; future leader of the Arizona Human Resistance base._

 _Location: Burbank, California_

The Terminatrix automatically internalized the coordinates and pulled out of the parking lot quickly, glancing back to see flames coming from the complex and people running around, not sure what had happened.


	14. Gone Gone

**Chapter 14: Gone… Gone…**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **12:45 PM**

 **La Honda, California**

—

Katherine Brewster was in the middle of lunch period when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She held out a finger for Abigail to stop talking as she looked at the message.

 _Mom: Come to the front, please. You're leaving school early._

Kate's eyebrows furrowed with confusion as she looked over the message. Abigail leaned over her friend's shoulder to read it and pulled it away with her own confused expression.

"It sounds serious."

Kate nodded slowly as she grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder, standing up.

"I guess I'm leaving early."

Abigail frowned but hugged Kate quickly.

"Good luck with whatever that is. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah… later."

Kate's mind ran with a thousand thoughts as she began walking to the front of the school. Her mother obviously wanted to tell her something in person which meant that it had to be very serious. She tried to convince herself that it was no big deal but in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think that maybe her father had been involved in an accident. He had been a police officer for as long as Kate could remember and she was always afraid something happen. Kate's heart began to pound faster against her chest as she exited the doors and noticed her mother's car in the parking lot.

Kate looked both ways before crossing the street and quickly jogged across it to where the car was parked. Kate immediately noticed her mother's eyes were red from crying and knew that something was wrong. She got in quickly and placed a hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Mom, what's wrong? What happened?"

"I… I can't say it here and now but… when we get home, I'll tell you."

"Why can't you tell me now? Why are you pulling me out of school?"

"Just trust me please, Kate. I… I can't talk about it here or we'll never make it home."

Kate nodded slowly and set her backpack down on the ground, fastening her seatbelt. She wasn't sure what to think. Her mother was obviously really upset about something and emotional enough that she couldn't speak until they were home. Kate's stomach did somersaults the entire car ride home as her mind came up with every possible outcome it could. And it was to the point where she was nervous to get out of the car for fear of what her mother would tell her.

But Kate got out slowly and locked her door behind her, watching her mother quickly go to open the front door. Kate followed right behind her more confused than ever as she grabbed a box of tissues and sat down on the couch in the living room. Before her mother could even say a word, she blew her nose and shook her head slowly.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I… I'm so sorry. I just didn't know how to tell you."

Kate dropped her backpack on the ground and held her mother's hands in her own, looking over her with worry.

"Tell me what, mom? You're really scaring me. Is… is dad okay?"

"Your father is fine, honey. He… he's okay."

"Then what's wrong?"

Margaret shook her head slowly as she sniffled softly. Kate watched her mother's red eyes begin to fill with tears again and felt tears of desperation begin to blur in her own eyes.

"Mom…"

"Kate, I… I don't know how to tell you."

"Just say it. It's okay."

"No, honey. It's not. It… it's shocking and… and cruel."

Kate's brown eyes widened as she looked over her shattered mother.

"Mom."

Margaret squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds and tried to calm her breath before she took Kate's hands into her own, speaking softly.

"Kate… Tim's gone."

Kate's face furrowed with confusion and she recoiled slightly from her mother, speaking nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"This… this morning before school started, it was all over the news. Some girl called the ambulance because a teacher had a heart attack and passed out. But… but then they found Tim. He… he was…"

Kate shook her head slowly, refusing to believe what her mother was going to say next as her stomach dropped to her toes.

"Kate, he was stabbed in the heart and… and he was already… dead when they found him."

"No. No…"

"I… I didn't believe it either. But… but then I called his mother and…"

Kate slipped her hands out of her mother's grip and placed them over her mouth as she continued to shake her head with unbelief. Tears instantly began to roll down her cheeks as she turned away from her mother, staring straight at the ground. It couldn't have been true. He couldn't have been gone. She had just talked to him a few hours ago. Her breaths grew heavier and quicker to the point where she was unable to take a breath in fast enough.

Her heart lurched inside of her and she leaned forward, squeezing her eyes shut. Her best friend was dead. He had been murdered. She sat there, in a daze, not able to hear her mother speaking to her. She could feel her mother grip her left arm but Kate had gone completely numb.

"Mom, he… he can't be…"

"I'm so sorry, Kate."

"Mom…"

"He's gone, honey. He's gone."

Kate felt as if her heart had been stabbed as she looked away from her mother again. She shook her head furiously and rose to her feet. Her mother gripped her wrist and begged her to stay through her tears but Kate couldn't hear her. She gently pulled away from her mother and ran down the hallway to her bedroom, locking the door behind her. Kate flung herself on her bed and buried her head in her pillow as she began to sob; feeling a weight settle on her chest that she knew would never go away.


	15. Do Not Speak

**Chapter 15: Do Not Speak**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **1:10 PM**

 **San Francisco, California**

—

Parker Young let out a small gasp as she opened her eyes to be met with a bright white light. She squinted and slowly lifted her hand up to cover her eyes as her vision tried to focus. Her chest and throat ached with pain which made every breath hurt. She was weak and injured but alive. How was she alive? Why was she alive? Who had saved her? And more importantly, where was she? Parker started to grit her teeth as she moved to sit up but stopped as a wave of pain passed through her jaw, causing her to gasp again.

She lay back down against the small mattress, staring up at the ceiling as her heart pounded with fear. Parker rested her arm over her eyes and tried to steady her ragged breathing, fighting through the pain. She had to figure out where she was which meant that she would have to sit up. But she didn't know if she could do that. After lying in the silence for a few minutes wondering what was going on, she decided to fight the pain and try to move. She slowly placed her arms on the mattress and pulled her legs close to her chest before she finally sat herself upright.

She let out a small sigh of relief and swung her legs over the bed, looking down to see the cuts in her jeans from the Terminator that had tried to kill her. Parker licked her dry lips and looked around the room. It was small and plain with gray walls and floors, a mattress, a door that was locked from the outside, and a camera in the upper right corner. She turned to look at the camera for a few seconds before looking down at the floor, trying to gather her thoughts.

She knew that something or someone had to have saved her from the Terminator before it had killed her otherwise she wouldn't be here now. Parker wondered if maybe the Resistance had found her but she didn't see how that would be possible. The Human Resistance had no idea she was coming but for her to have been rescued, someone had to have known where she was. She knew it wasn't Skynet or the Resistance and she knew that it couldn't have been a civilian because she would be either dead or in a hospital. Maybe her savior was part of the Resistance but just not part of Sarah Connor's division.

Parker heard the lock click and sat up straight, waiting for someone to come through. The door opened slowly and revealed an Asian man with light brown eyes, short black hair, and a short and muscular build. Parker's eyebrows furrowed with confusion as she looked over him and watched as he closed the door, moving stiffly. If she had never seen a machine before, she would have thought he was man but she knew he wasn't. She drew in a shaky breath and spoke barely above a whisper with her raspy voice.

"Did… did you save me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you are needed. Do not speak or you will lose your voice. I will ask the questions. You are, Parker Young, correct?"

Parker nodded quickly and the machine continued.

"Did you come for JOHN HENRY?"

Parker nodded again and instantly began to relax a little more. Now she knew she wasn't in Skynet's hands.

"We have been waiting for you. An undercover operative was there when you landed in La Honda and that was when we learned that a Terminator had followed you through. Once you arrived in Palo Alto, I was assigned to follow you to make sure you would not be harmed. I lost track of you in the crowd but found you once I recognized the other machine. I am sorry I could not be there sooner to protect you."

Parker's eyebrows furrowed with confusion and she drew in a breath to ask a question but the machine interjected.

"Do not speak. You wonder why I apologize?"

Parker nodded.

"I do not… but Catherine Weaver does. She is the one who needs you alive."

Parker's eyes drifted away from the machine and she spoke softly.

"Why?"

"Because you know what happened with JOHN HENRY in the future. We were not there to witness it because we were here, aiding Sarah and John Connor from a distance."

Parker folded her arms across her chest, pressing on it to relieve the pain.

"John?"

"Sarah Connor's son."

Parker's green eyes widened with surprise and the machine smiled gently.

"Much has changed in this new timeline… both good and bad. That is why we are bringing more soldiers back to the past. We have had to be extremely careful because Skynet is already online here. Judgment Day is approaching and we came to be sure that the Connors would be ready."

Parker opened her mouth to speak again but the machine stopped her.

"Do not speak. You need to rest. Would you like the light on?"

Parker nodded slowly and the machine returned the nod.

"We will return later to check on you. Then all will be explained."


	16. Troubled Pasts

**Chapter 16: Troubled Pasts**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **3:30 PM**

 **Thousand Oaks, California**

—

John Connor felt uncomfortable to be back in the real world, outside of the base. The sun was bright, cars and people were quickly moving from place to place; it was chaotic. He was glad he was out of the base for a change but the moment they had left, he instantly wanted to turn back. He didn't think he would be so frightened but he was. Memories of running and hiding, hoping that Skynet or the FBI wouldn't find them resurfaced and that paranoia instantly returned. He didn't look out the window and instead focused all his attention on the list and map in his hands, or Derek, or the radio; anything to stay hidden from the world.

John instantly regretted fighting against his mother all those times to go back outside. Now he understood why she wanted to hide and not run. He was looking out the back window every couple of minutes and searching the signs on the highway for exits just in case they needed to escape. Then his eyes would dart to the back seat to make sure that their guns were there, ready if they needed them. John moved to turn back again but stopped when Derek placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, John. No one knows we're here."

John let out a small breath and realized that his heart had begun racing with fear just because of his thoughts. He slowly turned away and licked his lips nervously as he looked down at the map. Derek moved his hand back to the wheel and glanced between the road and John quickly.

"Tell me what's going on in your head, John."

"How are you not afraid?"

"Afraid of what?"

John drew in a slow breath, rubbing his thumbs together.

"Everything. I've always been afraid; afraid of being separated from mom, afraid that Skynet would find and kill us, afraid that the FBI would lock us away, and afraid that anyone I cared for outside of the Resistance would get hurt by the things that chase me. The only time I wasn't as paranoid was when I was with Tim and Kate before the T-1000 came and ruined everything. Now Tim's dead and Kate is six hours away. And I don't know what I'm going to tell her when we get there. Her entire family is on Skynet's kill list and I don't know if it's because of me or because of the future."

Derek nodded slowly and John nervously waited in the silence for his uncle's reply. A few moments later a small smile grew on Derek's face as he turned to look at John.

"I used to know someone who looked like he had everything under control. But once you really got to know him, you would see that he was afraid of absolutely everything. It didn't matter whether or not it was real or even possible, he was afraid of absolutely everything. And when we were younger, I remember lying awake at night wondering how he would manage to live through those war-filled days, hearing him cry as quiet as he possibly could. He used to come up with all these grand plans and would try to be prepared for anything. And every one of those plans had two ways for us to escape and two ways for us to restock on weapons quickly."

Derek chuckled softly as he continued to recount the memory and John was surprised and intrigued to see a light in his uncle's eyes that he had never seen before.

"So one day I asked him how he did it all. I asked him how he could possibly get up fighting every day with all that pain, fear, and responsibility falling on his shoulders. And he said that he had seen fear shut people down before and that he had seen the consequences of their fear and how it hurt those around them. He had promised himself that no matter how afraid he was, he would always get up fighting so he could help someone who couldn't help themselves. And he did it, every day."

John watched as Derek's smile fell and looked at him sympathetically.

"But one day, he was gone and I never heard or saw him again. No one knew what happened to him and most of them thought that his battle with fear was over but I learned that it had only begun. I learned that they sent that soldier from the future… to the past. I promised myself that I would find him if I ever came back and I did."

"Really?"

"Yes. I found him in news articles and an unmarked grave. I was so angry. After all he had given to save as many as he could, he just got an unmarked grave in a timeline that didn't know him. Then I found your mother… and you. And the first time I saw you, I swore you were Kyle."

Tears instantly welled in John's eyes as he looked at the ground, trying to control his breathing. He could see Derek looking at him from the corner of his eye but did not look at him as he continued speaking.

"Kyle was always afraid but the moment I heard your mother's story, I was stunned. I couldn't believe that my brother could have possibly been that brave but I realized that he was. He was always brave but he was also sensitive… like you. And there will be soldiers that appear to have no fear at all and you will wonder how they can live but everyone has fears. Whether or not they let those fears control them is what determines courage. It's a good thing that you're afraid, John, because you have every reason to be, but I know who you come from and they're the strongest people I have ever met, in their own ways."

"What about you, Derek?"

Derek grew in a slow breath as he took a left turn, moving to get off the highway.

"I was born in 1995 and the war started in 1997 so I was two when the world went to hell. The war was all I knew, but as I grew older my parents would tell me about what the world used to be like and I would spend hours trying to imagine what it would be like. My imagination was how I kept my innocence in that dark world. I was six when Kyle was born in 2001 and everything changed. My father died to protect us shortly after Kyle was born and my mother fell into depression. Despite the fact that Kyle and I were alive, she just lost all hope. Luckily another man named Luke came into her life and she really loved him."

John could see sadness setting over Derek's face as he continued to tell John of his past.

"Two years after they met, my youngest brother Tim was born in 2003. Luke died fighting and that reminded my mother of my father and she lost it all again. And in the beginning of 2004, my mother couldn't take it anymore and she killed herself while we were playing with the other kids in the base. I was nine, Kyle was three, and Tim was one when she died. And that's when I lost my innocence. My brothers and I were orphans and I was told by Resistance officers that I was no longer a kid and that I needed to protect my family. I became a solider when I was 10… the same age you were when your life changed."

"I didn't know you had another brother."

"No one did except Kyle. I was on patrol when Skynet came in and gassed the base. Kyle was taking care of Tim at the time. They both got violently ill and when my three year old brother died, I snapped. Everything good in the world was gone. I lived for my brother and when he disappeared, I…"

Derek shook his head slowly, staring straight ahead with anger for a few seconds before he glanced over at John.

"I was going to kill myself… but then Jesse came. Somehow, she convinced me not to do it. She helped me cope with my past and I learned to move on. And when we were given the choice to come back and change the past, we said we were going. And not long after that, I met you."

"If Jesse hadn't been there, would you have done it?"

"I don't know, John, but that day I learned what my greatest fear is. I was willing to go that far and end everything because I realized that everything I did was for my family. And when everyone was gone, I was utterly alone and I couldn't take it. And I swear to you, John that I will do everything to make sure that you don't feel alone."

John was stunned, not sure of what to say, so he stared off into the distance and the uncle and nephew spent the rest of the car ride in absolute silence.


	17. Another Down

**Chapter 17: Another Down**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **3:40 PM**

 **Thousand Oaks, California**

—

Gal Jefferson winced as she tried not to move her broken left foot. She was sitting on the couch, watching whatever was on TV and trying to relax despite her uncomfortable situation. She growled with frustration as a flash of pain moved up her leg.

"Come on!"

She leaned her head back against the couch and let out harsh breaths as she waited for the pain to pass by. She had just broken her foot a week ago and was already over it. All Gal wanted to do was go back to work. She loved the construction business but it was dangerous. Gal had taken pride in the fact that she was one of the strongest and toughest women there and she had to earn that respect the hard way. And just when she thought she had it all, she had taken a nasty fall and broke her foot.

Gal shook her head slowly as she tried not to move a muscle, afraid of more pain and focused all her attention on the TV. The newscaster was talking about a series of seemingly unconnected murders all around Los Angeles. But the strange thing was that they had all happened today… seven victims. Some shot, some burned, and others stabbed. Gal's eyebrows furrowed with confusion as they tried to give their best explanation but she could tell that they didn't have one.

As they gave more little details, Gal began to feel bad for everyone investigating these murders because they would have to tell the families what happened. That fact alone made her glad that she worked in construction. Her family hadn't been happy with her decision but that was why she had moved away. The drama alone was too much to take and she was good with her hands so why not go. Gal reached her right arm over her body to grab the remote and switched the channel. The only thing decent on afternoon television was either cooking or kid shows and she didn't really like either of those. But Gal was in too much pain to want to put a movie in the DVD player so she suffered through a baking show.

Gal had finally found peace the moment she heard her door bell ring. She groaned aloud and drew in a deep breath as she leaned back to try and see who was at the door. She was slightly relieved to find her neighbor standing at the door and shouted as loud as she could.

"COME IN!"

Gal grabbed the remote and turned the television off as the door opened, turning back just to see her neighbor's body fall flat on the floor. Gal let out a cry of surprise as blood began to run on the ground from her favorite neighbor. Her brown eyes shifted up to a tall woman with blonde hair and blue eyes and… a silver hand covered in dark blood. The woman stepped over the dead body and Gal moved as quickly as she could, shouting in pain as she fell down to the ground. As Gal tried to crawl away with tears blurring in her eyes, she turned to see the woman push the couch for it to land all the way at the other side of the room, crashing into the bookshelf.

"Who… who are you!?"

The woman did not respond and instead stepped on Gal's left leg so she would stop moving, causing her to scream because of her injury. Gal looked straight into the woman's dead blue eyes as she lunged forward, plunging her silver hand into her heart. Gal sputtered, starting to cough up blood, staring at the woman with surprise as she died. The woman waited until Gal's face fell and she lay on the floor motionless to move away and walked out closing the door like nothing had happened.


	18. Get Ahead

**Chapter 18: Get Ahead**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **3:57 PM**

 **Thousand Oaks, CA**

—

Derek Reese followed the instructions Bea Jones had put on the paper very carefully as they drove through an unfamiliar neighborhood. It looked happy enough with their almost identical houses, perfect lawns and white gates. But the sound of police sirens in the distance was enough to make Derek want to pull away. He glanced over to see John leaning forward in his seat, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. Neighbors were walking out of their houses, looking down the street to see what was going on but there was nothing to see yet.

Derek drew in a slow breath as he turned right down Beacon Street and stopped by the first house, looking down the street. Two police cars and an ambulance were parked at house 14 with their lights on. Yellow police tape was already being put up and they watched as the ambulance packed up and left quickly. John sat back in his seat as he watched the police question nearby neighbors.

"This is the house… isn't it?"

Derek hesitated to answer because they both knew that it was the house and looked down at the paper to confirm, shaking his head slowly.

"Gal Jefferson… 14 Beacon Street, Thousand Oaks, California. Dammit."

John spoke softly, full of pain.

"We're too late."

Derek nodded and felt his heart sink inside of him as he crossed another name off the list. He glanced nervously at John, who was staring straight ahead, and placed a hand on his shoulder. John turned to him quickly and snapped out of his trance, motioning to the list.

"How many?"

"Eight now… Annalise Richards, Chad Tellmen, Pablo Hidalgo, Juan Hidalgo, Anya Fiedel, Tim Berkley, Nathaniel Loken, and Gal Jefferson. From the looks of it, those were all the targets in and near Los Angeles."

"If you were a machine, where would you go next?"

Derek drew in a slow breath as he looked over the names on the list, trying to think logically. From what he knew, the machines always worked practically. Now that all the targets in and closest to Los Angeles were gone they would have to travel fast to catch up to the machine. Derek was glad to find that Bea had written the list so that the route planned was the one that would hit the most targets. Derek shoved the papers behind him and turned the car around and parked down another street so that they didn't look suspicious. Once they were parked and away, Derek pulled the papers back out and showed John the route.

 _Robert Patricks – Bakersfield, CA_

 _Peter Holman – Hanford, CA_

 _Ethan Cox – Fresno, CA_

 _Akio Akene – Fresno, CA_

 _Alexander Volkov – Hollister, CA_

 _Annie Harrison – Gilroy, CA_

 _Gwendoline Queen – Campbell, CA_

 _Enrique Salceda – San Jose, CA_

 _Jolanda Salceda – San Jose, CA_

 _Franco Salceda – San Jose, CA_

 _Paco Salceda – San Jose, CA_

 _Juanita Salceda – San Jose, CA_

 _Robert Brewster – La Honda, CA_

 _Margaret Brewster – La Honda, CA_

 _Katherine Brewster – La Honda, CA_

 _Harry Jones – Modesto, CA_

 _Linda Wells – Mariposa, CA_

"The machine is already ahead of us… which means that our best chance would be to drive past Bakersfield and go straight to Hanford."

John looked at Derek with surprise.

"But that means that we would be sentencing Robert Patricks to death."

"Yes, but it would give us the chance we need to hopefully get ahead of the machine and hit these places before it can."

John's eyebrows furrowed as he took the map from Derek's hands, studying the route intensely for a few minutes before speaking again.

"What if there is more than one machine?"

"Then there's not much we can do. John, right now all we know is that there is one machine hitting all these places. If we skip Bakersfield and go straight to Hanford, it would give us a time advantage over that machine and the possibility of saving more would be likely. There's a lot that could go wrong but if we stay focused on the path and move as quickly as we can, we might be able to do something to stop it. After all, the machine is driving on the same roads we are which means traffic. And the last thing it wants to do is draw unwanted attention to itself."

"But why would Skynet only send one machine for 25 targets all across the state? Don't you think that's suspicious?"

Derek drew in a slow breath.

"John…"

John held up his hand and Derek stopped, giving the teenager a minute to think. But every minute that they sat there in the car, they were wasting time and letting another target go down.

"If I were Skynet, I would go two ways. Fresno to Hollister would send you on a path to eliminate everyone but Harry Jones and Linda Wells. See, they live on the opposite side of the others… which means that you would go up to Modesto from Fresno and then over to Mariposa while another machine goes for the heavier number of targets. Skynet can't find us here but it does know that Bea and I hacked into it this morning and got the names so it is going to expect that we are going to follow after it and try to get ahead."

John's face fell quickly as a new thought entered his mind and spoke gravely.

"Unless… unless Skynet gave us the list of targets… knowing that it would draw us out."

"We would have come out soon one way or another because Judgment Day is so close."

"Yeah, it knows that. That's why it hit Tim later this morning that way we would see it."

"Skynet doesn't know that you're here though."

John licked his lips nervously as his eyes darted over the list and the maps, putting the pieces together.

"No, Skynet knows better than that. It knows it was me that hacked into it so it gave us the list. And then it scared us by thinking it was going to find our location but it did. It knows where the base is."

"John…"

John's eyes widened as he drew in a gasp of fear.

"Five years ago Carol Pointe told me that she wasn't going to kill me because she wanted to see who I would grow up to be after Judgment Day. Skynet set this whole thing up! It knew that I would fight to go out and save those names so it gave them to me and then figured out where the base was. And now that I'm out of the base… it can attack it and kill everyone there. I never should have left!"

Derek instantly grabbed the cell phone in his back pocket and dialed Sarah's number quickly, impatiently tapping his fingers on the wheel while he waited. The moment Sarah answered, he laid out everything they had thought about and waited for her advice.

" _Are you sure?"_

"John is sure which is enough for me to think it is very likely."

" _Dammit! Okay, um… I'm going to start sending people and supplies to the backup base and have Bea monitor Skynet's movements. If Skynet attacks here, we will be ready."_

"Should we come back?"

" _No. We need to keep John away just in case it doesn't work. He needs to be out there, saving people."_

"Okay."

Derek placed one hand on the wheel as he backed out of the street and turned around, starting to drive away.

" _Follow the path Bea gave you and try to save them."_

"Where would we send them to?"

" _Get a bigger car and take them with you."_

"You can't be serious."

" _We don't really have a choice, do we, Derek?"_

Derek cursed silently before he replied, quickly driving out of the neighborhood toward the highway.

"No, I suppose we don't."

" _I'll pull together a plan. Just drive and try to keep John calm. I'll call again in an hour."_

"Okay, bye."

Derek hung up and spoke quickly before John would have had a chance.

"We're going to keep driving. We've got to get ahead of that machine."


	19. Always Here For You

**Chapter 19: Always Here For You**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **6:15 PM**

 **La Honda, CA**

—

Katherine Brewster was staring straight ahead at her wall in some sort of trance. She was curled up on her bed, hugging her pillow close to her chest as she tried to calm her shaky breathing. Every time she blinked, her eyes stung and she could feel the start of a headache coming on from crying but she didn't care. She felt numb and empty. She wasn't sure how long she had been staring at the wall and when she finally looked away, she let out a slow and deep breath. She then reached one hand out to her nightstand and grabbed her phone, pulling it close to her.

For the first time in forever, there were no messages. No one knew what had happened. No one knew that her best friend had been murdered. But she didn't care. She was glad they didn't know because then they would try to make her feel better. She didn't want to feel better. She didn't think she ever would feel better. Tim was gone forever and no one knew why. It wasn't right.

With trembling fingers, she clicked on Tim's name and scrolled back as far as she could so she could read every text they had sent to each other. They had only been texting for about a year but they had talked a lot in that year. Kate bitterly looked over the messages, feeling as if her heart was going to break even more at the memory of his smile and laugh. For a moment, it was hard to believe he was gone but his very last message made it very real.

 _Tim Berkley: Good luck with school and Scott today! I'll talk to you at 4… like always._

Tears blurred in Kate's eyes as she placed the phone back on the nightstand, shaking her head slowly. She pulled her legs in closer to her chest and hugged the pillow tighter, pressing her face into it. She felt tempted to scream but knew that nothing would come out even if she tried. She drew in several gasps as she stared at the photo wall in front of her, forcing herself to think of all the good they had done together.

Tim had been the only person who had stayed in contact with her once she had moved away from Los Angeles. She remembered running to the mailbox, hoping she would get a letter from her pen pal. They had told themselves that no matter what happened that they would always be there for each other. They had spent countless nights talking as late as they could, waiting to see who was going to fall asleep first. She had forced her mother to drive her down to Los Angeles to Tim's prom so she could be there to help him make that night the best for his girlfriend, Glinda. And in return, he had tried to come to every one of her basketball games and made sure that Kate heard him cheering.

It was unbearable to think that they would never get to do that again. She would never be woken up by one of his surprise calls in the middle of the night. She would never get to see him smile or hear his laugh. She would never get to feel the joy of hugging him when one of them made a surprise visit. All of that was gone.

Kate stared ahead, letting hot tears roll down her cheeks as she continued to stare ahead, wishing it wasn't real. She lost all sense of time and quickly became buried in her own thoughts. She was so out of it that she was startled when she felt a hand on her leg. Kate gasped and drew her leg away, sitting up quickly to see her father sitting on the edge of the bed still in his police officer's uniform. Kate let out a small sigh and opened her mouth to say something but stopped, knowing that if she talked she was going to sob.

As she looked into his warm brown eyes, she could see the love he had for her and the pain he felt because she was hurting. Kate sniffled softly; wiping some of the tears off of her cheeks as she quickly glanced away, trying to snap out of it. Robert spoke slowly and gently.

"Kate…"

She licked her dry lips as she looked back at him, feeling a lump begin to rise in her throat. Kate drew in a slow breath as she moved toward him. Her heart ached as she buried her head in his chest, beginning to cry once more. His arms immediately wrapped tight around her as he held her as if he was trying to shield anything and everything from hurting her anymore. Tears fell quickly as she gasped, unable to catch her breath.

"It… it hurts… so much!"

"I know, honey. I know."

One of his arms moved so that he was holding her head, gently caressing her red hair. Kate tried to speak but her heavy breaths kept getting in the way. Robert drew in a slow breath, speaking softly as he held his daughter in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Kate. What… what happened was wrong and… and I'm going to figure it out. Okay? I'm going to figure out why this happened."

"I… I… I loved him!"

"I know."

Kate shook her head slowly as she whimpered.

"He… he's… gone…"

Kate squeezed her eyes shut, trying to fight back the stinging tears and felt his grip tighten around her as he rocked her slightly. All of the tension that Kate had been using to keep herself together instantly fell and she relaxed into his arms, letting him hold her. After several long minutes in his embrace, she realized that she never wanted to leave and felt lost as he pulled away slightly. She sat up slowly and looked to see tears brimming in her father's eyes as he placed his hands on her face, gently wiping her tears away.

"It's going to be okay, Kate. I am always here for you, whenever you need me. No matter how big or small it is. Okay?"

Kate nodded slowly as he drew away, watching a small smile grow on his face.

"Come on. You need to eat something before you go to bed."

"I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Kate."


	20. After All These Years

**Chapter 20: After All These Years**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **6:50 PM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

Sarah Connor drew in a shaky breath as she held the cell phone in her hand, shaking her head slowly. She had been able to evacuate the entire base and sat in the complete silence, trying to gather her courage. She remembered the day that she had forced herself and John to leave the Salcedas in Mexico on August 10th, 1992. As she hesitated to click the call button, she thought of all she had put them through. They had taken her in when she was pregnant and alone and gave her and her son a home. They had taught her how to raise her child, how to fight and use weapons, how to make a plan. Everything she had done from that day on was because she had learned it from them. How was she supposed to call them eight years after they left with no explanation and hadn't spoken since?

She exhaled slowly as she sat down in one of the benches, squeezing her eyes shut for a few moments before she forced herself to press the call button. She pressed the phone to ear, feeling her heart pound nervously against her rib cage. She waited eagerly as she heard it ring, instantly remembering the code they had set in place to make sure it was really them. She hoped that they would remember it.

" _Hello?"_

Sarah drew in a slow breath as she leaned forward, speaking softly.

"28.2.1985.0600."

The line was filled with an uncomfortable silence that made Sarah want to scream. She heard something that sounded like the phone was being passed and stiffened. A gruff, Mexican voice that she could never forget responded.

" _Sarah? Is that really you?"_

Sarah let out a relieved breath.

"Yes, Enrique. It… it's me."

" _After all these years?"_

Tears blurred in Sarah's eyes as she nodded quickly, feeling all the guilt and pain from leaving the Salcedas return.

"Yes. I… I am so sorry."

" _Eight years."_

"I should have told you we were leaving but I… I couldn't. Not after everything you've done for me and my son. I was… scared that something would happen to you if we stayed. And I would rather die than have someone or something hurt you and your family."

" _Why would you call?"_

"Because you are in danger. John, he… he hacked into Cyberdyne Systems this morning. Skynet knows where you are. It… it's coming for all of you and I had to tell you. This machine, it's moving fast. John is following the list of targets, trying to reach them before the machine does. He should be in Hanford by now and then he is going to work his way up to you. But he needs your help, Enrique."

" _You're not with your son?"_

"No. It's just John and another soldier, his uncle, Derek."

" _An uncle?"_

Sarah rubbed her eyes nervously as she shook her head slowly, chuckling.

"A lot has happened, Enrique. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to call you."

" _I wish you would have. I understand that you did not want us to get hurt, Sarah, but we were always willing to give just as much for you as you would for us. You scared us."_

"I know and I am sorry. I wish I could take it back but… we needed to leave. John needed it."

" _You and I both know that it was for you Sarah, not him. Forgive me, but I think that is the one decision you haven't made with John in mind."_

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you had gotten hurt. At least now I know that you all are older and capable of taking care of yourselves. You don't have three little children anymore."

" _This machine… when will it be here?"_

"Tomorrow morning at the earliest. John is trying to get a head start on the machine but there's no telling where it is. We still don't know what model it is."

" _I pray you find peace soon, Sarah."_

"No, Enrique. Judgment Day is coming and until then, I won't slow down. That's something I learned from you."

" _My familia will be very happy to hear from you."_

"I wish I could be there but my place is here."

" _And where might that be?"_

Sarah grinned as she licked her lips quickly.

"I'm afraid I can't say. This call is a big enough red flag for Skynet to find me. You can be sure that wherever I am now is not where you will find me later."

" _I look forward to the day I can see you again, Sarah."_

"Me too."

" _You are a very special person; very hard to forget. I cannot wait to see who your son has become."_

Sarah's smile slowly fell as she stared at the ground ahead of her, nodding slowly.

"Even after all these years, he's not like me, Enrique. He is his father's child… I just have the privilege of taking care of him."

" _You are a strong woman, Sarah."_

Sarah heard a clang echo through the base and immediately rose to her feet, pulling out her gun.

"I have to go. Something's here. Be ready to leave when John arrives. And… tell him that I love him and that I am proud of him."

" _Godspeed, Sarah Connor."_

"Goodbye, Enrique Salceda."

Sarah quickly ended the phone call and shoved it into her pocket, lifting her gun up and cocked it, slowly walking out of the room to hunt down where the sound had come from.


	21. The I-950

**Chapter 21: The I-950**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **7:05 PM**

 **San Francisco, California**

—

Parker Young stood up straighter, shouting at the machine in front of her.

"Why won't you tell me what is going on!?"

"It is not my information to share.

"Then when is!? I'm supposed to be dead. There is no possible way that I would have survived what that damn machine did to me. How did you save me!? How am I not keeling over in pain!? How am I able to scream at you when that Terminator was crushing my throat!? And who the hell is Catherine Weaver!? Isn't she in charge of this operation!? Shouldn't I be talking to her!? I'm supposed to be helping with what or whoever JOHN HENRY is not standing here, locked in a room, and feeling perfectly fine!"

"You are not supposed to be screaming. The Terminator did not kill you. It almost succeeded but did not have the chance to do so."

Parker flung her arms in the air, staring at the machine with wide eyes.

"Why won't you answer my questions!?"

The door knob turned and Parker's eyebrows furrowed as she watched the machine step aside as the door opened. A tall woman with pale skin, straight red hair, and light blue eyes wearing a white dress stepped through and closed the door behind her. She smiled softly but Parker could tell it was strained. She was most surprised to hear a thick Scottish accent accompany the woman.

"Parker Young, we have been expecting you."

"And who are you?"

"Catherine Weaver. I understand you have been wanting to speak with me."

"Why would you show up now?"

"I had to do some research. If I am not mistaken, you most want to know why you are not dead."

Parker nodded.

"Yes."

Catherine Weaver looked over her for a moment before she spoke effortlessly.

"Do you know what an I-950 is?"

"No."

The woman nodded slowly as she took one step forward, cocking her head to the left as she looked over Parker, making the young woman nervous.

"It is a purely organic Infiltrator; specialists designed to operate independently without the need of reinforcements. I-950s are often children from the ages of 2 to 12 months. A neural net processor is attached to the brain providing it with an uplink to Skynet. It matures quickly and is given advancement injections so it can go out into the field as quickly as possible. The reason why you have not learned the information that you seek is because we didn't have it until now. You are not here to help with JOHN HENRY; you are here to kill it."

Parker's eyebrows furrowed with confusion as she looked back and forth between Catherine and the machine.

"What?"

"I-950s are stronger than normal humans. Therefore they can withstand more force and power. They can survive attacks by machines."

"I am not a machine."

Catherine Weaver took another small step forward.

"But you were raised in a Skynet work camp. You do not remember anything earlier than that. You most likely watched the machines torture and kill your friends for years until the Human Resistance liberated you. But what the Resistance did not know is that Skynet had let you go. It let you live among them, learn their ways, and gain their trust so that when the time came, you could do what it really wanted you to do. Each I-950 has a personalized mission and they are not activated until everything is in place. For you, interacting with JOHN HENRY would mean the Human Resistance would fail and Skynet would win."

"I would rather die than be one of them."

"You only say that now because you have not yet been activated."

Parker shook her head slowly, maintain her stance.

"Then prove it."

"Copy my voice."

"What?"

"I-950s are able to imitate the voices of others just like a T-1000 would. Copy my voice."

Parker folded her arms across her chest.

"And if I can't?"

"There are plenty of other things that you can do but this is the simplest one so copy my voice."

Parker shook her head and shouted.

"No! That's not possible and completely…"

She trailed off, staring straight into Catherine's eyes with fear as she spoke in her Scottish accent.

"It's not possible."

"Yes, it is."

Parker shook her head slowly as she took a slight step back, locking her eyes on the ground.

"It… it can't be. I… how do I sound so much like you?"

"Because you are an I-950; untrained and unaware of your identity but most definitely an I-950."

A moment of silence fell over the two women in the room as Catherine watched Parker's eyes fill with tears.

"Just kill me now."

"Why would I do that?"

"Please, just do it. I… I can't live knowing that I am the very thing my friends have died fighting. I… I…"

"I cannot kill you. You are too valuable."

A single tear rolled down Parker's cheek before she looked up at Catherine.

"What do you want with me?"

"I want to help you, Parker, because I know that you can help JOHN HENRY. And I desperately need help with him."

"How do you know that Skynet won't get in my head and turn me on?"

"I do not. But I can try to sever your connection to Skynet and replace it with JOHN HENRY."

"You can't be telling the truth. You're Skynet after all, aren't you? You're holding me here so you can figure out how to turn me on."

"Yes, but I am not Skynet. If I was Skynet, you would not be here right now. You would be out performing whatever mission it designed you to do."

Parker wiped away her tear quickly and glanced between the machine and Catherine.

"Why would the Terminator want to kill me if I am one of them?"

"That is what I intend to figure out but I am going to need your cooperation."

Parker gulped nervously as she drew in a shaky breath.

"Why?"

"Because it may require some wires and cutting skin. I've never had an I-950 before and I am incredibly curious as to who you are and what you have been trained to do."

Parker grimaced as she looked at Catherine and shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine. I'll do it as long as you cut me off from Skynet."

"I will do all I can, Parker Young."


	22. Disaster

**Chapter 22: Disaster**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **7:15 PM**

 **Fresno, California**

—

Derek Reese quickly glanced over at John, who was busy looking for the next location on the map.

"Got anything?"

"Not yet. I can't find it."

Derek looked back at the road, looking quickly over the passing signs.

"Well you better hurry. The last thing we need is to turn around if we go too far and give that machine a chance to get ahead."

John replied shortly.

"I know."

Derek drew in a slow breath, biting back his reply and decided to give John a little longer to figure out where they were supposed to go. After a few minutes he let out a sigh of relief as he sat John sit up straight and point to the left.

"Right there!"

Derek quickly pumped on the brake, warning the car riding his tail what he was going to do. The horn blared as he shifted into the turn lane but he ignored it and focused on the oncoming traffic. Cars quickly passed by close enough that it was hard for Derek to find an opening. He licked his lips nervously as he watched the oncoming cars, quickly seeing an opening and going for it. He turned the wheel and sped on the gas, bracing himself for a quick turn. He was surprised to hear John's frightened voice.

"Derek?"

Derek opened his mouth to reply but felt his heart stop momentarily as a car sped toward them, intending to crash. But it was too late. Derek grit his teeth to keep himself from biting his tongue as the car smashed into the passenger's side, sending it spinning to the side. The front of their car smashed into a pole and Derek could feel the front of the truck closing in on his legs, threatening to trap him before it stopped. His head snapped back against the seat and he shook it slowly, trying to get rid of the black spots in front of his eyes as quickly as possible. He instinctively reached for the pistol behind his back and groaned as he turned his head to look at his nephew.

Like Derek, the front of the car was really tight against his legs and he had one hand pressed against his forehead as it hung almost limply. Derek leaned over and gripped John's shoulders, shaking him roughly.

"Hey, stay with me! We have to go. We have to run!"

Derek let go of John and reached into the backseat for their bag of guns and pulled it to the front, looking worriedly at his nephew. Derek carefully shimmied out of the car, pushing the door open and jogged to the passenger's side, opening the door. He unclipped John's seat belt and placed the bag on his shoulders, leaning forward and up so that he could pull John out of the car. He grit his teeth and let out a slow breath as he tried to help the teenager stabilize himself, looking up at Derek with glazed eyes. Blood was running down John's forehead and Derek knew that he was out of it.

Derek looked all around him, trying to find the driver of the car that had purposefully smashed into them as he stepped in front of John, shielding him. Cars were stopping on the other side and people were honking their horns and were beginning to come and see what was going on. They couldn't risk revealing themselves to any kind of law enforcement so despite the odds, Derek turned to John and handed him his pistol.

"Hey, I know you're hurt but you gotta stay with me. Okay, John? Stay with me."

"What… what happened?"

Derek turned away from John, waiting for an attack, looking around in a paranoid manner.

"Keep your eyes open."

John replied slowly and softly.

"A machine?"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

A screech of metal grabbed Derek's attention and he turned to the left, trying to search for the sound from where he stood. John was in no condition to do anything alone and that meant that Derek would have to fight to protect both of them. A shiver ran down his spine as another screech floated in the air. Derek took one step, pointing the gun at the open space ahead of him, coming out of the cover of the car. Before he could think to react, a hand shot out and ripped the gun out of his fingers and pulled him forward, twisting his arm. Derek cried out in pain and knew instantly that he was fighting a machine.

The machine quickly tossed Derek to the side and across the street into a wall. Derek gasped with pain and struggled to lift himself up. He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, trying to fight through the pain. He had to get up. He had to save John. Fear filled his mind and adrenaline coursed through his veins as he heard several uneven gunshots before a cry of pain. Derek felt all the exhaustion and pain instantly fade as he pushed himself up to his feet and ran.

Derek ran around the car to see the machine nowhere in sight and John lying on the ground with a piece of shrapnel embedded in his chest. Derek instantly dropped to his knees at his side and was glad to hear he was still breathing but fading quickly into unconsciousness. Police sirens drew closer by the second and people were starting to get past their fear and run over to see what was going on. Derek cursed under his breath and slowly lifted the chain with his brother's dog tags off of his neck and put it around John's neck, tucking it under his shirt.

"Hang in there, kid. I believe in you."

Derek knew he had to leave. He didn't know if that was the machine going to eliminate the next target or not and he couldn't take that risk. Derek moved away from John, praying that he would survive as he grabbed the bag of guns and sprinted as far away from the scene as he could. With every step he took, the guilt grew to be almost overwhelming. He shook his head quickly, trying to clear it, telling himself that John would be okay, and quickly pushed this man away from his twelve passenger's van, driving away as fast as he could.


	23. Rocket

**Chapter 23: Rocket**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **7:25 PM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

Sarah Connor kept her gun trained ahead of her as her eyes swept over every corner and direction an attacker could possibly come. There was a chance that it could have just been the sound of something falling over but she wasn't typically that lucky. Sarah slowed her breathing to help quiet it despite the fact that her heart was racing inside her chest. She kept her stance rigid and firm as she looked both left and right before turning right to walk down the corridor. Her mind instantly created every scenario under the sun so she could try to prepare but it only ever ended up overwhelming her.

The base was entirely too quiet with only her soft footsteps creating any sound. She resisted the urge to shake her head slowly as her grip on her gun tightened, waiting. She prepared herself so that the second anything moved, she would shoot. Sarah evaluated both directions before she chose one, looking for any sign that someone or something was in the base with her. She suddenly gasped and turned to look behind her, afraid that someone was there but she quickly realized there was nothing. It was just like her nightmares. She could feel the machines drawing closer but they would never actually be there.

After trying to steady her breathing, she slowly turned on her heel only to bump into a tall, strong figure. His big hands ripped the gun out of her hands and she let out a cry of pain and tried to stamp on his feet but didn't move fast enough. His thick arms wrapped around her neck and squeezed, immediately cutting off some of her air supply. Sarah grit her teeth as she struggled to get out of his grip, digging her low fingernails into his skin. But the further Sarah pushed, the quicker she realized that she wasn't fighting a human.

"You were foolish to leave alone, Sarah Connor."

Sarah's eyebrows furrowed with confusion and anger as she recognized the voice, speaking through a clamped jaw.

"Kaleb Hunter…"

"Rocket, actually."

"Son of a…"

Rocket's grip tightened, cutting off her reply, leaving her gasping. She thrashed and pushed as much as she could, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to focus all her power on getting out. Black spots quickly began to dance in front of her eyes despite her best efforts and gasped for air and surprise once she was released. She stumbled forward and crashed to the ground, twisting her ankle slightly. She quickly turned and scrambled to her feet, looking over the blonde-haired, blue-eyed soldier she knew she shouldn't have trusted.

"You knew."

"John is good with computers but he isn't that good. Skynet gave him the list of targets knowing he would go after them, leaving us with the location of the base and the opportunity to take it down before it could ever start. The objective was to eliminate the Resistance but when you left alone, you became Skynet's top priority."

"For such a smart computer, that's a stupid move."

Rocket stepped forward and gripped Sarah's arm, throwing her into the wall.

"You are not ready for war but we are. We will win. Resistance against us is futile."

Sarah glared at the machine, trying to think of an escape route as she growled.

"Never."

She moved to go to the left but quickly darted to the right, hoping to get leverage but Rocket was quicker than that. The machine gripped her arm and shoved her back against the wall, wrapping its hand around her throat.

"Why haven't… you… killed… me?"

"I am waiting confirmation."

Sarah's eyebrows furrowed with confusion as she felt her face flush red, struggling to breathe. She stared straight into Rocket's dead blue eyes as the machine continued to speak.

"You were not careful enough in your talk with Enrique Salceda. Now we know another piece of your past. And we were able to track your son."

Sarah tried to stay conscious but her eyes began to close quickly as she began to fade but felt her heart clench inside her at the mention of her son. She gasped for air only to find none as Rocket's grip tightened and she knew that if it squeezed any harder that she would be dead. This was it for her. This was the end. She closed her eyes and prayed that John would have the strength to carry on as she let her head fall forward, limply. There was nothing more to do.


	24. Alive

(Author's Note: I am going on vacation for the next couple of weeks so you won't have to worry about whether or not a Terminator got to me. I plan on writing a few chapters tonight but since I have to leave early tomorrow morning, we'll see how much gets done. I will try to write and post chapters as often as I can, whenever I have Wi-Fi, so I don't lose all my wonderful readers. I hope that you are still able to enjoy the story despite the slight delay and all will be back to normal soon. Happy reading from TermGirl150.)

 **Chapter 24: Alive**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **7:32 PM**

 **L.A. Human Resistance**

 **California**

—

Joyce Feldman followed close behind Reed Powers, clutching her shotgun tight in her slightly shaky hands. Both she and Reed had noticed Kaleb following her alone and knew that something was wrong so they had followed him. Reed kept his hand out in front of her to keep her back while he made sure the coast was clear and slowly moved forward. Joyce's heart stopped momentarily as she heard a cry of pain in the distance and immediately tensed up, keeping her finger just over the trigger. Reed turned quickly on his heel and looked over her with wide brown eyes.

"Ready?"

Joyce nodded nervously as they quickened their pace, following the few sounds they would get. Every step filled her with dread but she tried to shake it off. This was her life now… danger and death were always around the corner and somehow she would have to learn to face them. She drew in a shaky breath and put her gun up, ready to fire if needed. They turned the corner and Joyce's gut dropped to her toes as she watched Kaleb sucking the life out of Sarah Connor. She watched, horrified, as Kaleb let her limp body fall to the ground and shouted.

"No!"

Reed stepped slightly in front of her, pointing his gun at Kaleb and watching him intensely. Tears blurred in Joyce's eyes as she searched Kaleb's to find that they were cold and dark. Reed shook his head slowly with disgust as he spoke aloud.

"Metal."

Kaleb took a quick step forward and grabbed the barrel of Reed's gun. Joyce let out a cry and fired her shotgun out of panic. The bullet grazed the machine's head but was deep enough to reveal the silver metal underneath the skin. Kaleb bent the barrel of the gun, making it useless, pulled it out of Reed's hands and kicked him off to the side, turning to Joyce. She cocked the gun with shaky hands and fired only to hit the wall across the room. He reached forward to grab her shoulder and Joyce ducked quickly, trying to slip away but tripped on his foot, sending her gun several feet away from her.

Joyce's heart raced faster than it ever had before as she crawled to her shotgun, cocking it, and turned around to see the machine coming down to deliver its final blow. She let out a scream of fear as she squeezed the trigger, feeling herself momentarily lose her hearing as the shot rang out. She could see Reed run forward and push the Terminator away from her so it wouldn't land on her. She gasped with surprise as its fist cracked the concrete floor before it turned on its back.

Joyce laid there on the floor, motionless and stunned, watching Reed rip the chip out of the machine's head and crush it under his foot. He then threw his gun on the ground and slid over to Sarah's lifeless body, cursing under his breath. Joyce placed a hand over her heart and laid her head back, staring at the empty ceiling as she tried to get control of herself again. Her thoughts were interrupted by a cry from Reed.

"Joyce, I need your help."

Joyce slowly sat up and crawled next to Reed, looking down with fear. Sarah wasn't breathing and there were several bruises on her neck from being strangled. Reed quickly spoke under his breath before he jumped to the other side, staring straight at Joyce.

"We… we need to do CPR."

Reed locked his hands together and started pushing hard on Sarah's chest, gritting his teeth with effort as he tried to get her heart started again. Joyce sat there on standby waiting for when she would need to step in. Reed was pumping as fast and forceful as he could, often crying out loud in frustration before he shouted.

"Come on! Come back! Come back!"

Joyce nodded slowly, praying that their leader would wake up.

"Please don't be dead. Come on, Sarah."

"Joyce!"

Joyce ran to his side and quickly took his place, feeling a huge responsibility as well as strength fall on her shoulders. She didn't realize how fast and hard she was pumping or how exhausted she already was because there was so much at stake. Derek Reese was out with John on a nearly impossible mission and Joyce didn't want to be the one to tell that broken boy that his mother had died. She fought back the lump in her throat, breathing as hard as she could.

"Get up! GET UP!"

As Joyce let out her final scream, she heard Reed gasp and stopped to see Sarah's blue eyes open quickly. Tears of joy and relief instantly began to run down Joyce's cheeks as she sat back on her knees, completely exhausted. Reed helped lift Sarah into a sitting position, asking her how she was feeling. The leader of the Resistance was gripping his arms, looking around with her wide blue eyes. Joyce was so excited that Sarah Connor was alive that she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the woman, too exhausted to speak but weakly laughed instead.

"I knew you weren't gone. I knew it."

Reed nodded slowly, holding Sarah in his arms, looking over her worriedly.

"You gave us quite the scare."

Sarah nodded, still out of it, and turned to look at the machine lying on the ground. Reed followed her gaze and replied.

"One of Skynet's Terminators. We saw him following you and knew something wasn't right. Joyce was actually the one that shot it down."

Sarah turned to Joyce with a look of slight surprise that quickly faded into a weak smile of pride. Joyce returned the smile with a relieved breath and finally let herself relax. Sarah Connor was alive.


	25. Questions Need Answers

**Chapter 25: Questions Need Answers**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **8:05 PM**

 **Zeira Corp.**

 **San Francisco, California**

—

Catherine Weaver drew in a slow breath as she stepped into the silver elevator doors, clicking the button that would lead her to the basement of her technology company. As the doors closed, she spoke with a thick Scottish accent.

"Progress update JOHN HENRY."

She stared straight ahead at her reflection; dull, straight orange hair stopping at her shoulders, bright blue eyes, and spotless white dress that matched her tall white heels. While the computer gathered its information together, Catherine couldn't help but think of the double life she lived. The only reason she was able to help and prepare the Human Resistance for the Connors was because she was the owner of the huge tech company, Zeira Corp, which was the leading and only true competitor to Cyberdyne Systems. And her operation, _Babylon_ , was created for the sole purpose of destroying Skynet.

The doors opened and she quickly walked out and toward the core of her operation. Lines of code flashed in front of her eyes and she quickly read over before blinking them away. She then responded to the computer, stopping at the machine and placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes. We need to find a way to reprogram or at least shut down the Terminatrix. But until you can produce substantial information; is there any news on the Connors?"

More codes appeared and she read over them quickly.

"John Connor was alone? And he's in a hospital with the FBI? Well… that's an unexpected problem. I guess we'll have to involve the Connors sooner than I thought. Is he awake yet?"

Catherine placed her hands on the metal desk, leaning forward slightly as she nodded.

"No, we won't move until he's awake. A chest injury could be severe which can buy us enough time to get him before the FBI can take him into full custody."

Several serves were running fast, creating a heavy fan sound and several lights were blinking but Catherine ignored it all. She was staring dead ahead at the blue screen, reading the lines of code that her machine was feeding to her.

"Have you started looking into what kind of shell you want to have? I'm not going to leave you as a part of this room full of junk. You need to be mobile that way Skynet won't expect it coming."

Catherine waited patiently for a few seconds before the machine gave her more information.

"The Terminatrix is an advanced model. If we can hack into it and reverse the control that Skynet has and switch it ours without it knowing who did it, then it would work."

Catherine walked to the side of the room and pulled a chair up to the middle so she could continue talking to JOHN HENRY.

"How is Parker Young doing? Have you been able to sever the underlying connection that she has to Skynet? I don't think she has been fully activated yet but the last thing we need is for her to go haywire and destroy everything we've been working toward. Working on it? Good. Is Fair Haven ready for occupation yet?"

She began to read the line of code before it stopped suddenly and an image from a security camera flashed onto the screen. Catherine spoke briskly.

"Kill the lights. Tell the security guard not to worry. It's a Skynet Scavenger."

Catherine's cold blue eyes watched the machine in the form of a small child look through the windows of the tech company. After a few minutes, she rose to her feet and talked as she walked back to the elevator.

"Keep working on the Terminatrix, Parker Young, and Fair Haven. I'll be back."


	26. For The Sake Of The Future

**Chapter 26: For The Sake Of The Future**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **8:27 PM**

 **Fresno, California**

—

As Derek Reese sped as fast as he could along the highway, he couldn't help but look back in the rear view mirror. He knew the machine couldn't be too far behind which meant that every move he made was crucial for their survival. He had arrived just in time to fight his way past the machine and whisk away the second name on their revised list. There were now two important members of the Resistance in his twelve passenger van who were frightened and confused.

Derek's heart was beating fast as he tried to stay calm to provide the two targets some comfort. Not a lot but a little was alright for now. There was no more comfort for them until they were dead. Derek wasn't very sympathetic when it came to those who had lived without war. They had no clue what their future or their children's' future was going to be like. Normal people couldn't possibly understand the thoughts and actions of a soldier with nothing left to go home to.

And with every mile that passed, he felt as if he had a pole in his heart. He had abandoned his brother's dying child and regretted every second of it. His stomach twisted inside him as he thought of all the things might happen now that John was alone and injured in the real world. There was a reason Sarah had sent Derek with him and he had a feeling she would have a hard time understanding his actions. His mind raced with possibly outcomes, trying to rationalize his decision.

If he had dragged John with him, he would have died and that was the last thing the future needed. At least Derek knew he would be in the hospital and hopefully under the FBI's protection. Derek cursed aloud at the thought and slammed his hand down on the wheel. He glanced in the rearview mirror at the two people sitting silently in the back, looking up at him worriedly. Derek grit his teeth and looked ahead, trying to think of what to say without making it seem like it was their fault.

He drew in a slow breath and allowed himself to gather his thoughts as he safely but quickly moved through traffic. Ethan Cox was a 12 year old kid that Derek had to kidnap to get him out of the machine's path. So it was safe to say that he was terrified of him. And Akio Akene was a 50-something year old Japanese man who spoke well but had a heavy native accent which meant that Derek had a hard time understand him. Derek decided to give them a few more minutes to calm down and reached for his phone.

Derek quickly punched in the number and pressed it to his ear.

"Come on, pick up. Pick up."

A low but female Australian voice picked up.

"Derek?"

"Jesse, is Connor there?"

"No, baby. Why?"

"I need you to deliver her a message."

"Sure."

"I'm in Fresno. I've got Ethan Cox and Akio Akene in the backseat and we're headed to Hollister for Alexander Volkov. But we encountered a few problems along the way."

"Like what?"

Derek drew in a slow breath as he merged onto the highway, glancing to see if anything looked like it was following him.

"A machine came out of nowhere and totaled the car we were in. And in the attack, John got a pole stabbed in his chest."

"Oh hell…"

"Yeah, I had no choice but to leave him behind."

"Dammit, Derek! He's a fugitive! Do you have any idea how excited Detective Ellison will be to close that case!? He'll lock him away and then the future's back into the machine's hands!"

"I am well aware that he is a fugitive and I figured the FBI would be able to protect while he heals. If I'd taken him with me, he would be dead now. This way I know he's in a hospital and hopefully getting better."

"Derek, there's no one to send to get him. We've already evacuated the base and we are in no shape for a rescue mission."

"Then leave, Jesse. Go get John and bring him back."

"I can't! Sarah was almost killed by new recruit Kaleb Hunter. Turns out that he was a Terminator all along."

"I knew I didn't trust him! Is she alright?"

"She can't talk but she's alive. And I don't exactly want to give her the news that my fiancé abandoned her dying son and that he's in the custody of the FBI recovering from getting a pole in his chest!"

"It was my choice to leave him behind and I take full responsibility for it. And despite all the things that have gone wrong, I think I still made the best decision. The names on this list are the future. They're John's helpers and they need to be rescued."

"I'll tell her under one condition."

"What?"

"You make sure that kid is okay and keep moving. Sarah contacted the Salcedas so they know you're coming. I can try to get their number or get her to ask if they can help."

"Deal."

"And tell those poor people in your car what's going on. Try not to scare them."

"I'll do my best."

"I love you, baby."

"I love you too. Bye."

Derek hung up the phone and glanced back in the rear view mirror at the two people sitting awkwardly there.

"So… would you like to know what's going on?"


	27. A Mutual Friend

**Chapter 27: A Mutual Friend**

 **February 24th, 2000**

 **10:30 PM**

 **La Honda, California**

—

Enrique Salceda's brown eyes swept over the dark town, looking for the address he had been given. His sunkissed tan skin looked dark in the low light but made his graying hair stick out more than normal. His wife, Jolanda, and his twin sons, Franco and Paco, were in the trailer managing all the equipment they and the Resistance would need when the time came. They had been assigned to pick up the Brewsters from La Honda and work their way down to meet someone named Derek Reese.

Enrique's daughter, Juanita, was sitting in the passenger's seat, twirling her fingers through her long black braids, staring ahead at the road. She was wearing blue jeans and a long, flowing blue, green, and pink top with intricate designs that she had purchased in Mexico before they had moved to the United States. She drew in a slow breath before she turned to look at her father, speaking softly.

"Papi, did the message really come from Sarah Connor?"

"Yes."

Juanita turned in her seat so that she was facing him, looking at him with wide light brown eyes.

"Then you believe her stories?"

"You do not?"

"I am not sure what to believe. I know we have never truly lived a normal life but we don't live like the Connors. They are fugitives in hiding. The FBI, Interpol; they all want them."

"Dear Juanita, we are fugitives in hiding. I've been in gangs all my life because of people like Sarah Connor. They need help. They need someone to accept and understand their fears. That's all the gangs are… a mis-match family. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But no matter what happens, the Connors are part of our familia."

Juanita flipped her long braids over her shoulders as she flung her arms out in the air.

"They left without telling us why. Madre was worried sick. I loved John and Sarah and they left. It has been years since we've had anything from them and now they send us on a mission!? Forgive me if I am not understanding."

Enrique placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, nodding once.

"I understand that you are angry. But Juanita, we should be happy. We are safe. They are safe. After years of separation, all is well and we will soon be together again just like before."

"What do they want us to do?"

"Help their friends. John went to school in 1995 with their daughter Katherine and he wants to save them."

Juanita looked away from her father and pointed at a blue house hidden by a large tree to the right.

"Here."

Enrique nodded and pulled off on the other side of the road, turning the car off.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes and no."

"You will do great. Just bring them here. And if you need help, you let me know."

Juanita gave her father a tight smile before she hopped out of the truck and closed the door behind her. As she walked forward, she made sure her long shirt was covering the small handgun in the back of her pants. Her father had ensured her that she wouldn't have to use it but there was always a chance. Katherine's father was a police officer which meant that Juanita had to put her poker face on.

She drew in a slow breath as she approached the door and knocked softly on it. She waited patiently as a woman with dull red hair and blue eyes opened the door. It was clear to see that the woman had been crying which made Juanita hesitate to continue but she smiled sadly and moved forward.

"I am sorry if this is a bad time. I am one of Tim's friends, Juanita. I, uh… I came to talk to Kate."

The woman nodded and held out her hand for the teenager to shake.

"Margaret Brewster. You came a long way."

Juanita stepped inside the house and played with her thumbs nervously.

"I had to, Mrs. Brewster. I hope I'm not intruding."

"Of course not. Kate's room is at the end of the hallway."

"Thank you."

Juanita turned her back to the woman with a small smile and walked down the hallway, stopping at Kate's door. She knocked on it softly and drew in a shaky breath. A small and weak reply came from the other side of the door.

"What?"

"I… I'm Juanita. I'm one of Tim's friends. I… I came to see if you wanted to talk."

The door opened quickly and Juanita was met with a confused expression on Katherine Brewster's face.

"You came all the way from Los Angeles?"

"No. I moved to San Jose a couple months ago but I wanted to see if you were okay. He talked about you all the time."

"Did he?"

Juanita nodded slowly and Kate opened the door, letting her walk in.

"I can't stay long but I…"

Kate sat down on her bed, folding her hands in her lap.

"How close were you with him?"

Juanita closed the door behind her and spoke semi-nervously.

"I'm afraid I don't know him as well as you did. But we did have a mutual friend."

"Who?"

Juanita stared straight into Kate's eyes as she replied.

"John Connor."

Kate's expression immediately hardened as she stared at Juanita with surprise.

"John?"

"Yes. My name is Juanita Salceda. Sarah and John Connor lived with us in Mexico years before they came to the United States. I know you're hurting and scared and confused but you need to come with me. You are in danger."

"Wh… what?"

"Tim's death wasn't an accident. He was killed by the same machines that tried to kill Sarah Connor in 1984 and attacked John in 1995. You went to school with both John and Tim and were close friends. That makes you a threat. You and your family are on their kill list."

Kate shook her head quickly as she started to laugh.

"No. John Connor is dead… just like Tim."

Juanita opened her mouth to say something but not before she heard a scream come from the front of the house. Juanita leaped toward Kate, pulling her around to the other side of the bed and onto the ground. She clapped a hand over Kate's mouth and pulled the pistol out from behind her back, pointing it toward the door from under the bed. Kate tried to let out a small scream but Juanita whispered harshly into her ear.

"If you want to live, don't make a sound and do what I tell you to."


	28. The Bullet

**Chapter 28: The Bullet**

Enrique Salceda placed his hand on his pistol as he watched a man approach the front of the house. His first thought was that it was the machine but there was no evidence of it yet. He didn't know if it was Robert Brewster or not which made telling even more difficult. Enrique watched to see movement from the window and kept his eyes trained for anything suspicious. A few minutes later he heard a gunshot and turned to look toward the back of the house.

A flash of light revealed his daughter running along the back of the house with her gun raised, pushing Katherine Brewster behind her. Enrique reached up and pressed a button that alerted his sons and wife to get ready in case a fight broke out and watched to see what they were fighting. He started the truck as quietly as he could and saw Juanita look to see it was now ready and moved. She turned on her heel and pushed Katherine toward the truck as hard as she could, shouting something.

Enrique opened the passenger's door as Katherine ran for it and ushered her in. He placed a hand on her shoulder looking over the terrified girl.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded quickly looking at her house with wide eyes.

"My mom… she… she…"

When Enrique looked up, his daughter was gone and he straightened in his seat. If the attacker was a machine, Margaret was dead and Juanita knew that. He had made sure that she had known that. So why had she gone back? Enrique looked over Katherine and spoke softly as he placed a pistol into her lap. She didn't flinch but looked at it as if she knew she was going to need it.

"Are you leaving?"

Enrique's eyes widened as he tried to find any sign of his daughter and heard another gunshot ring out. He moved as if to run after her but a few seconds later he saw her moving slowly out of the house, letting Margaret lean on her. Both of them were limping and looked injured, possibly shot, so Enrique stepped out of the car and knocked twice on the large trailer, telling them to open up. He jumped back in the car and when the button beeped softly, he sped away as fast as they could.

Katherine was breathing heavily, looking through the side window as if she was going to pass out. Enrique decided to put his worry behind and try to talk to the girl.

"Are you alright?"

"It's true, isn't it? John Connor is back."

"Yes."

Katherine let out a cold laugh as she shook her head slowly.

"My dad warned me about him years ago and I should have listened."

Enrique stayed silent, knowing her thought wasn't finished and let her speak her mind.

"But I didn't because he looked scared and alone. And now that short, sad, scrawny, wannabe bad boy with a psycho mother is the reason Tim's dead. You know, I'd almost forgotten about him too and here he is again, living the paranoia of the machines that killed his father."

Enrique dropped his left hand to a small bag of sleeping drugs and grabbed one of the pills and put it in his lap. Then he grabbed his can of Dr. Pepper and opened it, slipping the drug in discreetly while Katherine freaked out.

"It is not just a fear, Katherine."

"I know. I know. It's freaking real now! And you can't honestly look at me and tell me that everything's going to be okay, right!? Because it's not… it… it's not! I… I just…"

Enrique handed her the drink.

"Calm down and try to clear your head. The worst thing you could ever do is freak out."

Katherine took the can and shook her head slowly, taking a big gulp of her favorite soda. She pulled it away and opened her mouth to say something but stopped, looking at him with wide eyes.

"You…"

"I am sorry, Katherine, but you need rest."

"I…"

Enrique took the drink from her hand and set it down, letting out a slow breath.

"Everything will be okay."

Katherine moved to argue but when he gently pushed her back, she quickly started to fall asleep. Once she was out of it, Enrique grabbed a walkie talkie from the floor and spoke into it.

"How is Juanita and Margaret?"

He heard soft cries of pain and his wife, Jolanda trying to calm it. Fear filled Enrique as he listened, hearing his oldest son, Franco speak.

"Margaret was grazed by a bullet on her shoulder but Juanita's got one lodged in her thigh. We're trying to get it out but it's not going well."

He heard a muffled scream and tried to steady his breathing.

"I'm pulling off so you can drive. I drugged Katherine so she should sleep a while."

"Okay."

Enrique pulled off into the nearest parking lot and jumped out of the car and jogged to the back of the trailer. He unlocked the trailer and Franco quickly stepped through, landing on the ground. Enrique passed him the keys and placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"Follow all the rules."

Franco nodded and closed the door behind his father, locking it. Enrique forced himself not to look at his daughter and turned to Margaret, kneeling on the ground in front of her as the truck started moving.

"What happened?"

The woman was clearly in shock with tears rolling down her cheeks, shaky hands, and her dull red hair tousled.

"I shot him but it didn't do anything. So I ran. The bullet missed me. I ran to Kate but she was gone and it came back."

Her eyes flicked to Juanita as she struggled to hold herself together.

"But she came and pulled me out of the way of another shot. It hit her but she… she kept moving and I followed."

Enrique turned away and moved to his daughter lying on the ground. Jolanda's hands were wrapped in Juanita's with her fingers turning purple from her grip. Tears blurred in his wife's eyes but Enrique could see that she was forcing herself to stay together. Paco was kneeling on Juanita's side with bloody tools and towels on the ground. His brown eyes were wide and wild with adrenaline and fear and his thick black curls were ruffled. Enrique sat next to his son and spoke softly.

"Keep her leg still. The bullet has to come out."

Paco hesitated to do so and Enrique placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She will be fine once it comes out. Trust me."

Paco nodded quickly and clutched his sister's leg, trying to keep it as still as possible. Jolanda was leaning over Juanita's face, speaking softly over her daughter's cries. Enrique drew in a deep breath as he grabbed the tool and prepared to save his daughter.

"Be strong, Juanita… all is well."


	29. Thank You For Your Service

**Chapter 29: Thank You For Your Service**

 **February 25th, 2000**

 **1:02 PM**

 **Cyberdyne Systems**

 **Fremont, California**

—

"Right this way, General Heralds."

Carol Pointe gestured to the elevator and General Heralds stepped in quickly. Carol pressed the button for the third underground level and drew in a deep breath.

"I am honored that you would ask to see our greatest achievement. But I will warn you that it doesn't look exactly like you think it would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Carol gave the general a small smile as she pulled out her badge.

"You will see."

The doors opened to reveal a large empty chamber. The general took a few steps in, looking around in a confused manner before he turned to look at Carol.

"Where's Skynet?"

Carol walked past the general to the center of the room and spread her arms out.

"It's here. Cyberdyne Systems is Skynet. It's not some computer that you can turn on and type a code in because the code is already set. And good for you, Skynet has grown bigger than ever before."

"Then what have you been using our funds for?"

Carol folded her arms in front of her and walked up to the general.

"I assume you've heard of Sarah Connor, right? And how Skynet is going to end the world and Terminators will kill everyone?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen a Terminator, general?"

"No."

Carol quickly turned on her heel and stepped on one of the floor panels and then placed her badge on it. An underground display case came up revealing the endoskeleton of a T-800.

"They're beautiful creations; destructive but beautiful. One of these machines could serve as entire army. You see, while the world has been locking away and rejecting Sarah Connor, I was able to build my first Terminator. It took some time considering we had to reverse engineer the tech from the factory in 1984 but we figured it out. And this model is just the beginning."

"Fascinating but where does Skynet play into this?"

"Skynet controls all the Terminators. Underneath heavy metal plating in its head is a chip that contains the machine's connection to Skynet as well as the link to its power cell safely tucked away in its abdomen. You take out the chip and the machine goes down. But not Skynet. Skynet cannot be destroyed like Terminators. It takes a more precise procedure and excellent computer skills to defeat my A.I."

General Heralds watched Carol closely with furrowed eyebrows.

"You speak of war and nothing else. What about welfare, medicine, and education?"

Carol's smile fell as she looked over the general with a mix of surprise and malice.

"Despite the years I have spent studying the human brain, I still do not understand how you cannot make certain connections. Skynet was built for war, just like Sarah Connor has said for years. The world does not deserve everything Skynet can give them so it is going to tear everything down and rebuild it."

"Enough games. Where is Skynet?"

Carol stepped up to General Heralds and spoke coldly as a blue light flashed behind her eyes.

"I am Skynet."

"What the..."

Carol's form rippled to reveal a sleek liquid metal body that swirled as it moved away to reveal long metal fingers underneath. General Heralds' eyes widened with fear as he stood there, staring at her. Carol reached out and gripped his throat, copying his form as she choked him. As she spoke her voice was edged with mechanics.

"The only reason I allowed you to come was so I could use you to pass Skynet through the government and military. And I feel it is my duty to reveal my true identity and purpose before you die. Humans are foolish and gullible. They need to be toughened like you but smarter and I will make sure it happens. Thank you for your service, general."

General Heralds purple head lolled back and Carol let his body fall to the ground and spoke to Dyson.

"Have Turk dispose of the body and replicate it. I need Skynet to pass through."

"Yes, ma'am."


	30. A Good Kid

**Chapter 30: A Good Kid**

 **February 26th, 2000**

 **12:32 PM**

 **Los Angeles, California**

—

The first thing John Connor felt was an unbearable weight on his chest. Every breath ached and he winced, trying not to breathe altogether but found it impossible. He let out quick, shaky breaths as he tried to move but felt somewhat restricted. His green eyes fluttered open slowly, threatening to close because of the bright fluorescent lights but he fought past it. He lifted his right hand to rub his eyes but found he couldn't. He slowly turned his head to see handcuffs clasped tight on both wrists. He let out a sigh of disappointment as he laid his head back, trying to think of what he could do next.

Even if he could have moved, he wouldn't want to because of the pain which left him stuck in a hospital. John lifted his head slowly, grunting with effort, and looked around the room to find it was empty. Where was Derek? He could tell him what had happened. He remembered the car crash but nothing else. After trying to rack his brain for a few minutes, pulling against the handcuffs uselessly he heard the door open and immediately turned to it.

Two men stepped through in suits and John knew he was in trouble. The first was a younger, tall, stocky white man with a head of blonde hair and the second John recognized instantly; tall, dark brown skin, and a bald head meant that John was with the man that imprisoned his mother, Detective James Ellison. John glared at the two as they walked over to him. The blonde guy gave a slight smile but John wasn't paying much attention to him; he was staring straight into Detective Ellison's brown eyes.

"Hello John."

John smiled coldly at the man, trying to keep his anger in check. He knew that whatever had happened, he was at the mercy of the FBI, immobilized in a hospital. It was hard for him to think it could get any worse. He drew in a slow and painful breath, refusing to acknowledge the one detective he hated more than any other. Ellison turned and waved his partner off and he left quickly. The man chuckled softly as he pulled a stool over to John's side.

"You got yourself in a pretty good mess; car crash, pole in the chest, and alone. And in case you forgot, you are still a fugitive."

"And you would never miss a chance to remind me."

"I tried to be nice to you, John."

John scowled.

"You took my mother and locked her away in a mental hospital. You put me in foster care with people who only cared that they were getting paid to keep me and sent me to school despite the fact I had never gone."

"And you threw a wrench at my head."

John leaned forward and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Because I hate you... almost more than Skynet."

Ellison faked a smile that quickly fell as he changed the conversation.

"The doctors said that it's a miracle you survived.

John fired back a reply instantly.

"The machines want to kill my mother... not me."

"Then how would you like to explain the pole in your chest?"

"It was just to scare me."

Ellison's eyebrows furrowed as he shifted in his seat.

"That's an awful reminder."

"I'm used to it."

John stared Ellison down, watching with surprise as the man's composure seemed to lighten a little bit.

"Why are you here, John? Out in the open and alone."

John glanced away from the man and down to the handcuffs.

"I wasn't alone. I was the passenger."

"Then where's the driver?"

"If I knew I wouldn't be here."

Ellison folded his arms in front of his chest as he continued to interrogate the stubborn teenager.

"Was the driver your mother?"

"A friend."

"He abandoned you."

John's anger faded at the realization and struggled to keep his composure.

"Only because there is something more important to do."

"You don't seem to believe that."

"It doesn't matter what I believe. It doesn't change anything."

Ellison pursed his lips as he nodded slowly.

"The murders across LA."

"Assassinations by Skynet."

"They drew you out of hiding. Where is your mother?"

John hesitated to reply, suddenly remembering that he gave Skynet the location of the base. Tears blurred in his eyes at the thought but decided to use his fear as a tool.

"She's dead."

"I don't believe you, John."

"I don't care if you believe it. It doesn't change the fact that she's dead because of… me."

John stared at his right hand as he tried to twist his wrist in the handcuff.

"I figured out who Skynet was planning to kill by hacking into the system but it let me get those names and instead stole the location of our base. We were ambushed as we tried to leave and… everyone there… died. The friend that left me behind was the only other survivor."

Ellison suddenly leaned forward in his seat.

"Did you say that you knew Skynet was going to kill them?"

"We were trying to save them."

"And you didn't call the authorities!?"

"I'm not that stupid. You wouldn't have believed me. You would have just locked me away like my mother!"

"Tell me the names."

"No. I don't make deals with the authorities. Besides… all the names on that list aren't special now but they will be. They are my leaders in the future and I will not lose them."

Ellison's eyes widened with surprise as he looked at John, speaking harsher.

"In case you haven't figured this out, there is only one of you out there saving those people! You're here in the hospital under my jurisdiction. If there is even the slightest chance that we can save them, we need to take it."

"You can't fight that machine! We've been tracking and chasing it for days and we still don't know what the hell it is! And every time we think we're close, someone else dies! When will you realize that you can't fight Skynet!?"

"If we can't fight it then how can you, John?"

John sat up despite the pain, pushing against the handcuffs.

"Because I know what I'm up against! I've talked to people who have seen the future. I know what Skynet is planning to do."

"End the world?"

"You don't get it. If Skynet wanted to kill all of us it would have done it already! But it hasn't. It tried to kill my mother years ago because she was important to winning the war somehow! Besides, do you really think that Skynet would go through all this trouble to make it look like it was going to kill me and just let me go? I'm all alone, injured, and handcuffed... it's the perfect recipe for capturing an enemy. Do you think I'm bluffing?"

"I think the impossible is always possible with a Connor."

"Then you know that your best bet is to let me go, right?"

"I do but I'm sure as hell not going to do it. It's been five years since I've seen anything from you and I'm not letting you go now."

"The plan moves forward, with or without me. We no longer rely on one individual for something anymore. We're bigger."

"I'm sure. But for now you're my biggest priority."

John watched as Ellison reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a metal chain with dog tags. John's eyebrows furrowed with confusion as he looked over them. Ellison watched John's expression and spoke softer.

"The paramedics found these on you. I'm guessing by the look on your face that you got it from partner when you were unconscious. It has a name on it but it's a little hard to tell. And if I'm not mistaken, they're your father's. Kyle Reese, right?"

John let out a small gasp as he stared at the dog tags with tears blurring in his eyes. Ellison's harsh demeanor slowly fell as he looked over the teenager and felt compassion for a small moment.

"You're making it really hard to not believe your story, John. I've seen plenty of kids with criminal parents come through but you're different. There's no doubt your father was a soldier now. But despite how desperate you are to find anything from him, you never act. If time travel is possible, why haven't you gone to get him? You could get to know him. You could live with him if you wanted to. So why haven't you gotten him yet?"

John sniffled softly as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from falling. The weight on his chest grew heavier to the point where it was almost unbearable. After a few seconds, he lifted his eyes to Ellison's and spoke softly.

"I haven't gone back for him yet because… because he deserves not to fight in the war again. After everything he's given for my mother, the least I could do is keep him out of Skynet's way."

"So you'll never try to find your father?"

A single tear rolled down his right cheek as he shook his head slowly.

"Never."

Ellison rose to his feet slowly and placed the dog tags in John's right hand.

"You're a good kid, John. But it's a shame you keep getting yourself in trouble. Get some rest."

Ellison turned and walked out, locking the door behind him. John leaned forward as much as he could to look over the dog tags. He watched as his tears fell on the only thing he had for his father and felt all the pain rush back at him again. He shook his head slowly as he laid his head back against the pillow, letting himself cry.


	31. Rita Applegate

**Chapter 31: Rita Applegate**

 **February 26th, 2000**

 **7:10 PM**

 **Los Angeles, California**

—

Parker Young's eyes swept over the street before she jogged across toward the Los Angeles General Hospital. She then slowed her pace to a walk as she approached the building going over the mission details in her head. Parker reached for the handle on the door and felt a sharp buzz in her brain and winced, clutching her skull. She staggered away from the door and stared out at the street. She began to blink rapidly trying to get the pain to go away but a voice pierced into her head, ringing in her ears.

"Good. Now, they are not going to let you see him so you will have sneak and possibly fight your way through."

Parker grit her teeth as she replied.

"I'm not used to being a machine. I know I'm not bulletproof."

"I believe you will find you are more capable than you think."

Parker shook her head quickly and let out a sigh of relief as the pain faded. She then grabbed the door handle and walked in, heading for the front desk. She then put on her best panicked face and ran the rest of the way, pushing through some people so she could slap her hands down on the counter top.

"Oh my, I… I… I'm here to see the boy in the car crash. You know, the… the one with the pole in his chest. I saw it happen and I… I wanted to see if he was okay. And my name is Rita Applegate."

"I'm afraid you won't be able to see him."

Parker's eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"Why not?"

The woman drew in a quick breath before she leaned forward, speaking softer.

"You just can't. He's in stable condition and he is awake but you won't be able to see him. I'm sorry."

"Well… what floor is he on?"

The woman put her hand on Parker's shoulder and looked directly into her eyes.

"You are not allowed to see him. I'm afraid you will have to leave."

"No, you don't understand…"

"Please leave or I will have to call security."

Parker opened her mouth to reply but felt another stab of pain in her head and tried as hard as she could not to make it look painful.

"You're wasting time. Get John Connor now. Fight."

Parker drew in a deep breath as she looked back at the woman and moved away slowly. As she went to move her hand, Parker gripped her wrist and twisted her arm as best as she could.

"Sorry."

The woman looked to her with surprise and let out a small cry. A security guard instantly ran toward Parker and she released the woman, running straight for the man. She jumped as he moved to grab her and twisted her legs around his neck, pulling him down to the ground. Parker's body shuddered with pain but not as much as she thought it would. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins and she could have sworn there was some kind of electricity there as well.

"Floor three."

She jumped to her feet and sprinted for the staircase, kicking open the door. Parker could hear a guard coming behind her and knew an alarm was soon to come. Fear started to close in as the guard almost reached her but suddenly something switched and she sprinted three steps at a time. She was at the third floor in no time and barreled through the door to see three federal agents conversing in the hallway. They all turned and Parker heard the guard growing close behind her so she ran. The guard came up to the floor shouting at them to stop her but she kept running.

Parker dodged around the first agent, throwing her leg out to trip him as she passed and landed at the feet of the other two. They reached down to grab her and she thrust her body to the right in a rolling motion harsh enough to knock him over as well. The third one pulled his gun out and Parker knocked it off to the side, causing him to shoot the wall. She winced at the sound but continued by kicking the agent on the ground in the throat as she jumped up, punching the guy with the gun in the face twice as he stumbled. Then she pushed him over into the security guard and kicked the door open, barging through.

She immediately spotted John Connor lying in a hospital bed with an African American man sitting beside him. The detective turned and moved for his gun but Parker stepped forward, glaring at him.

"Don't bother."

"How did you get in here?"

Parker lunged forward and punched him in the gut. As the detective keeled over in pain, coughing, she took his gun away and pointed it at the agent.

"You're coming with me."

The detective shook his head slowly as he coughed.

"You're not taking him."

"No, I'm taking both of you. There is someone you need to meet."

John looked at her with confusion.

"Who are you with?"

Parker turned to John, looking into his pale green eyes.

"The Human Resistance, Colorado/Kansas Division… 35 years from now."

She kept the gun trained on the detective as she walked over to John's side looking over the monitors. Parker analyzed the data and winced slightly as Catherine Weaver's voice returned.

"He will survive. It's time to go."

Parker nodded as she took the IV out of John's arm.

"Time to go."

The detective shouted.

"You can't do that!"

Parker took off the rest of the monitors and wires and pulled a syringe out of her back pocket.

"Adrenaline. You'll be able to move pretty quickly. Sorry."

She cocked the gun to make sure the detective would stay in place as she leaned over, jabbing the needle close to his heart. John gasped with pain, looking at her with wide, fearful eyes as he began to breathe heavier. Parker tossed the syringe on the ground and turned to the detective, holding her hand out.

"Keys."

"No."

"Shoot him."

Parker drew in a quick breath and hesitated with her finger laying on the trigger.

"Follow my exact instructions."

Parker listened to Catherine's words before she pulled the trigger. She was surprised to find the bullet went straight through just like Catherine had said it would. Detective Ellison cried out in pain and fell back against a medical cart. Parker lunged forward and caught him, pulling him up into a sitting position. She shoved some gauze in his lap and grabbed the keys to John's handcuffs.

"I warned you, Detective Ellison. Now wrap that around and get to your feet. We need to move."

She heard a voice at the door and fired three times as she walked back to John. She quickly unlocked his handcuffs and helped him sit up. Parker then grabbed his clothes from the table off to the side and spoke briskly, wishing she could be gentler.

"Change fast but carefully. We need to move."

"How are we getting out?"

Parker walked to the window seeing a laundry truck just where it was supposed to be.

"Back-up."


	32. Prepare Yourself

**Chapter 32: Prepare Yourself**

John Connor winced as he changed out of the hospital gown and into his clothes. His heart pounded fast against his ribs because of the adrenaline. He'd been in tough situations but this one had to be one of the most stressful ones yet. His chest throbbed and he quickly checked the bandage to see some blood coming through. John didn't want to stay in the hospital but he was afraid of getting hurt more. He grit his teeth as he slipped his tennis shoes on and came up gasping.

John quickly walked out to see Parker firing several more shots at the door that prompted the other agents to shoot as well. She stood there in the middle of it, holding the collar of Ellison's shirt, keeping him down. After a few precise shots she turned and kicked her leg through the window. John's first thoughts had been that she was a machine but he watched as she pulled her leg back wincing. John stayed hidden, watching with surprise and fear as Parker dragged Ellison to the window and threw him out.

John was tempted to run away as she walked toward him, gripping his arm.

"Come on."

"What are you?"

He looked straight into her eyes finding that she was breathing heavily as she replied.

"I'm not sure. Ready?"

"No."

Parker nodded and bent down and swung him off his feet, lifting him up in her arms. John gasped with surprise as he wrapped his arms tight around her neck. He had barely brought in another breath before she jumped out. John squeezed his eyes shut until he felt them land on several pads to soften the blow. Parker let out a cry of pain as her legs buckled from under her, spilling John forward onto the pad. He groaned in pain with one hand on his chest, staring up to see a roof close over as the truck began to speed away.

John laid there for a few minutes, trying to calm his breathing so the pain would lighten up. After a few minutes, he grit his teeth as he pushed himself up into a sitting position to look around. He saw Ellison a few feet away with one hand on his shoulder. Their eyes met for a moment and John looked away quickly, turning to Parker. Her arms were on the padding, keeping the rest of her body up as her head hung. He could hear her labored breathing and leaned forward to check on her.

"Are you okay?"

John turned with surprise at the sound of a crisp Scottish accent.

"Parker Young will be fine."

The woman had bright red, shoulder-length hair with piercing blue eyes and wore a white blouse and black dress pants. She smiled softly as she looked over all of them, continuing to speak.

"I apologize for the intensity but it was vital that we retrieved you, John Connor."

After looking over him for a few seconds, she turned to the detective.

"And you as well, James Ellison."

Ellison glared at the woman, speaking through a clamped jaw.

"Kidnapping an FBI agent is a federal offense."

"I am well aware but seeing as the FBI will soon no longer exist, it was worth the risk."

The woman turned away from Ellison and walked past John to Parker.

"You did well."

Parker lifted her head slowly, staring at the woman with anger. The woman recognized the look and moved away, touching a spot on her back. Parker winced but the woman didn't seem to mind.

"That bullet hit the spine… typically that would mean paralysis but the nanite covering over your bones is fascinating. It is as tough as coltan without all the weight. It absorbed the force of the bullet and embedded itself there. We will have to remove it at the base but it won't do any more damage. And your legs… they will heal within the next three hours. Well done, Parker."

The woman drew away from her and knelt down in front of John, holding her hand out.

"You need not worry. I follow you, General Connor. I am Catherine Weaver; a T-1000 sent back by Lieutenant Kyle Reese to prepare the Human Resistance for war against Skynet."

John gasped.

"Kyle?"

"Yes, your father. He doesn't know of course because he hasn't gone back yet but that is the least of our concerns at this moment. What matters now is preparation. There is much you need to learn before you can lead the Human Resistance."

John shook her hand slowly.

"Where are you taking us?"

"Kansas. I have built a base there with everything you will need to command and survive. I have monitored your mother's actions very carefully to see that you are grossly unprepared. So I went back further in time and created my company, Zeira Corp, so that it would become big enough to be able to fund the building of underground bases all throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as well as stock them with everything the survivors of Judgment Day will need to live and fight. Now all you need to do is prepare yourself."

John drew in a quick breath as he sat up straighter, looking over the woman.

"How did you do all of that without Skynet knowing?"

"It was difficult but I believe I have built the key to winning the war. I used the remaining connections inside of me from when I belonged to Skynet and used it to create my own supercomputer, JOHN HENRY. It is young but will learn quickly. It is not ready to face Skynet yet but we need soldiers to distract and defend while it continues to grow."

"I need to contact my mother."

Catherine slowly rose to her feet, helping John up as well.

"Skynet is monitoring Resistance communications very closely. You won't have much time."

"I don't care."

"Very well."

Catherine led John to the front of the truck where another machine was driving it and handed him a phone.

"I will give you directions to a base that your mother and the rest of the Resistance can occupy. Make sure you deliver my exact directions."

"Okay."

John drew in a slow, pained breath before he dialed the number and prepared to speak to his mother.


	33. The Time Has Come

**Chapter 33: The Time Has Come**

 **August 29th, 2000**

 **5:18 PM**

 **Cyberdyne Systems**

 **Fremont, California**

—

Cyberdyne Systems was closed for the day and for a good reason. Those who were still inside of the building were guaranteed survival and were allowed to bring their families but those outside of it had no clue what was going to happen. News reporters and journalists were crowded around the doors hoping to get a scoop from the owner, Carol Pointe. But Cyberdyne Systems' doors would not be opening again for a very long time.

Carol stood at the window of her office, looking out over the reporters and the city and into the sky. Ever since Skynet had passed through the military, information was released to the world of what it would do. The world was eagerly waiting for the program to come online with no thought of what the Connors had said in years before. They were innocent and naive and that would be their destruction.

Skynet's inside spy, Rocket had been destroyed quickly after trying to murder Sarah Connor. The Human Resistance had moved to a location Skynet could not find after months of searching. And John Connor had mysteriously vanished with no word from him or the Resistance since. But she knew they were coming. Both sides had been preparing for the inevitable war. Their battleground was the entire planet and it was going to be a glorious rebirth.

She wondered whether or not the Human Resistance would bother warning the world one last time. If Sarah was in control, they would stay silent and await the day they could fight. But if John had any control, he would try to make contact. His greatest weakness was his heart and Carol intended on exploiting it. She had determined to keep him alive so they could battle and the time had come. She had spent long enough watching and studying what she could from him to know that his compassion and mercy for humankind was going to be his downfall. And after the bombs went off, Carol was going to throw everything she could to tear him down. The time had come.

Carol turned away from the window and walked out of her office to the underground operating station. The core of Skynet was currently under Cyberdyne Systems but it wasn't staying there for long. Machines were running the final diagnostics checks on Skynet before the core would be moved to a secret location. None of the Terminators under Skynet's control were going to reveal that location. That was the great thing about machines; they are reliable. But if you torture a person long enough, they would tell you anything and everything you wanted to know.

As she stepped out of the elevator and onto the bridge she noticed Miles Dyson looking over the machines at work. Carol could see lines of pain and guilt across his face and stopped next to him.

"You are having second thoughts."

"I didn't think this day would come. And now that it's here, I… I have realized how many people are going to die."

Carol's eyes drifted to the machines busy at work.

"It is a necessary sacrifice. Only the strong will survive."

"I don't know if I am strong."

"You must be… for your family's sake."

Miles turned to Carol with tears blurring in his eyes.

"They will never look at me the same."

"The choice is yours, Dyson. You can choose to stay here in the safety of Skynet or you can die and your family will be sent out in the world to fend for themselves."

Miles shook his head slightly as he looked into her cold blue eyes.

"I don't think I can do it, Carol."

Carol nodded slowly staring ahead as she drew a syringe out from her pocket.

"I knew this day would come. Your humanity has made you weak. But I will make you strong again."

She turned slowly and jammed the needle into his neck, pushing the liquid out. He gasped with surprise and fear, buckling back into her arms. She held him tight as he cried aloud as his body began to seize violently.

"You should be honored, Miles. You will be the first to change in this timeline. Do not worry. Your service to Skynet will continue, willingly of course and your family will be protected. But there comes a day when the strongest fall and I will be there to lift them up to their former glory. You are too important to lose."

Carol gently set him on the ground and walked away as he fell unconscious. She stepped to the railing and observed the final moments of preparation. She had succeeded in preserving Skynet for war and was ready for whatever the Human Resistance was going to bring.


	34. Meet Me On The Battlefield

**Chapter 34: Meet Me On The Battlefield**

 **August 29th, 2000**

 **5:48 PM**

—

"This is General John Connor of the Human Resistance. This message is being broadcasted to every device across the world in every language as I speak. The day my mother, Sarah Connor, has warned of since 1984 is here. Today at 6:18 P.M., Cyberdyne Systems' program Skynet will officially come online and it will hack into every military and release nuclear missiles across the world. At least three billion of you will die instantly in the attack and for that I am truly sorry. I cannot say who will live and who will die so I will address both of you.

"To those who will die, I have given my all. I have spent my entire life training for the war that no one believed would come. I have run, hid, fought, and survived for you. My mother and I have done all we could to warn you so you cannot say we did nothing. I wish that I could save all of you but there is not enough time or resources to do so. I have no idea where Skynet is going to attack. But know that you are fortunate enough not to live through what is going to come.

"And to those who will survive the nuclear war, it is just the beginning. You cannot fight the Terminators. All you can do is run and hide and pray it doesn't catch up to you. There are Human Resistance bases all around the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. To those that will survive beyond those lines, I pray that you will find a way to contact us so you can gather what you will need to survive. Everyone must be ready to fight. From this moment on, you will be fighting for your lives as I have.

"And now I speak to those on Skynet's side, especially Carol Pointe. I do not know who will win this war but I will not stop until it is over. You can capture, torture, and kill us but we will not stop. We will always resist. So send your spies and your Terminators. Send everything you've got and we will fight. I have spent my entire life preparing for this and I will not run away or cower from it. I will stand and fight for those who cannot and I will lead the Human Resistance to victory.

"I will honor those who have died to protect me and I will die to protect others. And I hope that those who survive will join me. Together we will be strong and together we will fight. No one dies in vain. There is no glory in the ashes of the fallen. So we fight to live so our children and their children will live in a better world. Judgment Day is here and I pray that you will remain strong. Find the Resistance and if you can't, we will find you. We are all soldiers now. And as we fight, remember that the future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves. This is General John Connor of the Human Resistance and I will meet you on the battlefield. Resist Skynet and hang in there."


End file.
